A roofing company was sentenced today for safety breaches after a worker fell about three metres through a roof light and suffered a fractured pelvis and spinal injuries.
The magistrates court heard how, on 17 March 2016, a self-employed roofer was on a roof laying wooden ‘lats’ and roofing felt, when he fell through a sky light that was covered with felt. The company that the gentleman was working for was subcontracted to carry out the roof work.
An investigation by the Health and Safety Executive (HSE) found that whilst the company initially provided air bags as a means of mitigating any falls by employees, the air bags had been moved to remove debris and the worker hit the floor instead.
The company pleaded guilty to breaching Section 3 (1) of the Health & Safety at Work etc Act 1974 and has been fined £20,000 and ordered to pay £1,100 in costs.
After the hearing, the HSE inspector commented: “Falls from height through fragile surfaces and skylights remain one of the most common causes of work related fatalities in this country and the risks associated with working at height are well known.
“This incident could so easily have been avoided by simply adopting reasonably practicable safe working practices such as using netting instead of relying on fall bags”