16/07/2015
Watershed (Roofing) Limited has pleaded guilty to breaching section 3(1) of the Health and Safety at Work etc Act 1974, resulting in a fine of £80,000 plus £39,381.32 in costs after a worker fell to his death through a roof-light.
The Director of the company also pleaded guilty to a breach of section 37(1) of the Health and Safety at Work etc Act 1974 and was fined £7000.
Preventable Death Due To Health and Safety Failures
The now deceased employee had been kneeling on the roof working when he stood up and fell two metres through the roof-light.
He later died from his injuries
Bradford Crown Court heard that an investigation found Watershed had prepared a construction phase plan which stated that before work was carried out, the plastic domes of all roof-lights needed to be removed and the apertures boarded over to prevent falls, but when roofers accessed the roof it was found that the domes could not be easily taken out.
The court also heard Watershed’s Director visited the site on the first day to check it had been set up correctly, and the difficulties of removing the roof-lights were discussed with the workforce. It was decided that works could progress without covering the roof-lights.
The HSE stated that the risk of falling through roof-lights was well known within the construction industry, and preventable measures were often cheap and easy to install.
The company and director were aware of this but allowed work to continue regardless, thus breaching their duty of care.
To find out more about health and safety obligations within the construction industry, or to mobilise an emergency response to an incident, please phone our London office on 0207 993 6960.
Fisher Scoggins Waters is a leading construction, engineering and manufacturing litigation firm, specialising in disputes and disasters. For further information on this article or any of our litigation services, please contact us on +44 (0) 207 993 6960.