Maintenance man chops off tree branch his ladder is leaning on, sues employer

While pruning a tree on the grounds of a hotel where he worked, Peter Aspinall, 64, sawed off the branch that his ladder was leaning on. He fell and suffered injuries that required surgery. Now he's sued the hotel. From The Telegraph:

He took the action after health and safety inspectors concluded the hotel failed to carry out a risk assessment on the dangers of pruning.
They also said that his employer should have given him training on where to place the ladder…

David Walton, mitigating, said the hotel owner, Jan Hampton, was not on the premises at the time and would have ensured the task was carried out by specialist tree surgeons if she had been.

"They proceeded to cut the branch that the ladder was leaning against. It is an unusual accident. Laurel and Hardy do this sort of thing," he said.

"Handyman injured after chopping down branch he propped his ladder against"