Factory boss fined for safety breaches after worker falls through roof
The Health and Safety Executive (HSE) has reported that the director of a manufacturing company has been fined for health and safety breaches after an employee fell through a roof at a site in Cradley Heath.
The HSE prosecuted Adam Stephen Walker, director of Steven Walker and Sons Ltd, after Neil Tomkins suffered extensive bruising to his lower back after falling through a skylight onto a machine below.
Mr Walker was fined £10k and ordered to pay £5k legal costs after pleading guilty to breaching Section 37(1) of the Health and Safety at Work etc. Act 1974.
West Bromwich Magistrates heard that in May last year Mr Walker and another employee began repair work on a section of the factory roof. No risk assessment had been made, and no specialist equipment was used to prevent anyone falling through the roof apart from a small plank of wood for the employee to kneel on when making the repairs.
During the lunch break, Mr Tomkins climbed on to the roof to look at the repair work and fell through a skylight. After Mr Tomkins had been taken to hospital, Mr Walker then took another employee on to the roof to replace the damaged skylight. Again, despite the fragility of the roof and the incident that had just happened, no assessment was made nor specialist equipment used. This second employee however took a scaffold board with him on his own initiative.
HSE Inspector, Amarjit Kalay, said: "The failure of the company and Mr Walker to make adequate provisions for working on the roof left one of its employees with serious injuries, and could easily have cost him his life. This incident could easily have been prevented by undertaking a suitable risk assessment and by using the necessary equipment to prevent a fall through the fragile roof. Falls from height cause more workplace deaths than anything else. HSE's current 'Shattered Lives' campaign promotes awareness of the serious consequences of slips, trips and falls. Working at height can be very dangerous if the right measures are not taken to protect workers."
Kim Smerdon a leading personal injury solicitor from Reading based law firm Boyes Turner said: "Falls from a height at work are unfortunately commonplace and such accidents usually cause very significant injuries. Many of these incidents could easily be prevented by employers complying with the Work at Height Regulations 2005 which place a number of duties on the employer to ensure that employees who have to work at height are safe."
Boyes Turner's top ranked personal injury lawyers are experienced in dealing with all types of accidents at work as a result of falls from a height. If you, or someone you know has suffered as a result of an accident at work please contact us to discuss your claim.
Consistent with our policy when giving comment and advice on a non-specific basis, we cannot assume legal responsibility for the accuracy of any particular statement. In the case of specific problems we recommend that professional advice be sought.
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