The security worker was signed off work for more than two months following the incident at London Road Depot in Southwark
A London Underground worker was rushed to hospital after a staircase collapsed at a depot in Southwark. The security worker suffered injuries to his head, hand and leg when the rusted metal staircase gave way at 10pm on November 2 last year.
He was climbing down the steps from a portable container to begin his route patrol when the incident took place, an accident log has revealed. A later site inspection found the staircase was “severely corroded”, with significant rusting and deterioration of the bolts securing the steps.
The investigation summary added: “The collapse is believed to have resulted from metal corrosion and structural weakness. From follow-up investigation and visual inspection of the stairs post incident, the stairs appeared weathered with no visual rust contamination of the areas visible to the officer.”
The security worker was signed off work for two months until January 8 to aid his recovery, while he has also undergone physiotherapy.
In response to MyLondon’s Freedom of Information request for the accident log, a TfL case officer said: “The safety of our staff and customers is always our top priority and we continuously strive to reduce incidents and injuries.”
TfL has since reviewed similar staircases across the transport network, a spokesperson confirmed. “We’re determined to learn from safety incidents on our network and we investigate every serious incident, putting measures in place where necessary to prevent them happening again,” they added. “Following this incident, we carried out a review of site safety inspections and maintenance procedures. We’ll continue to work with our colleagues and contractors to ensure everyone’s safety.”
A report submitted to Safety and Security Panel revealed there had been 23 serious injuries among TfL workers between April and December 2025. The transport authority is behind target on its efforts to reduce the injury tally to 17 for the year.
Over the same period in 2024 there had been 19 serious injuries, along with one death which occurred when Elizabeth line worker Jorge Ortega, 61, was fatally attacked at Ilford station.
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