Father-of-two falls to death through rooflight

Date:

6 July 2011

A father-of-two died after falling through a rooflight and sustaining fatal head injuries, a Southampton court heard today.

Two firms and a company director were prosecuted by the Health and Safety Executive (HSE) after Carl Pearson fell approximately six metres while working on a building on Wharfdale Road in Bournemouth on 1 December 2007. He died the following day.

The 42-year-old from Christchurch had been contracted by a Bournemouth-based cladding refurbishment company, Cladcoat UK Ltd, to replace damaged rooflights, as part of remedial works on the building.

Southampton Crown Court heard Cladcoat had brought in Mr Pearson to carry out this part of the work, as it did not have the necessary expertise.

Cladcoat had itself been contracted to carry out the roof work, as well as some external steel cladding work, by Bridport company TRN Electrical Ltd, which had obtained the original contract for the project.

An HSE investigation found that whilst a risk assessment and method statement had been produced, these were inadequate. This resulted in Mr Pearson carrying out work on a fragile roof, with no means of fall prevention, or fall mitigation, in place.

TRN Electrical Ltd, of Cold Harbour Business park, Sherbourne, pleaded guilty to breaching Section 3(1) of the act and was fined £30,000, plus costs of £14,850. Cladcoat UK Ltd, of The Stables, Longham Business Centre, 168 Ringwood Road, Longham, also pleaded guilty to breaching Section 3(1) of the act and was fined £10,000, with no costs.

Jeremy Walton, Director of Cladcoat Ltd, pleaded guilty to breaching Sections 3(1) and 37 of the Health and Safety at Work etc Act 1974. Mr Walton, of Tarrant Keyneston, Blandford Forum, was given a conditional discharge.

After the hearing, HSE Inspector Frank Flannery said:

"This was a wholly preventable incident in which a man in his prime - a father-of-two - lost his life. This incident was not the result of the actions of an individual; rather it is the result of collective failures.

"Had a suitable risk assessment been undertaken, for risks that were known to all parties, and a safe system of work established, this tragic incident would not have happened. The two companies involved, whilst being aware of the risks, did not fully understand their duties and responsibilities under the law.

"Whilst I welcome today's outcome, the fact remains that a man has unnecessarily lost his life.

"I hope that other companies can learn from this, and appreciate the high risk involved with work at height on fragile roofs. As this case shows, being aware of the risk is not enough to prevent it from happening."

Last year, more than 4,000 employees suffered a major injury as a result of a fall from height at work and 12 were killed. More information on preventing falls in the workplace is available at www.hse.gov.uk/falls.

Notes to editors

1. The Health and Safety Executive is Britain's national regulator for workplace health and safety. It aims to reduce work-related death, injury and ill health. It does so through research, information and advice; promoting training; new or revised regulations and codes of practice; and working with local authority partners by inspection, investigation and enforcement. www.hse.gov.uk
2. Health and safety legislation is currently under the spotlight as part of the Cabinet Office's Red Tape Challenge. To have your say on which regulations should stay and which should be scrapped, visit: http://www.redtapechallenge.cabinetoffice.gov.uk/home/index/ and the Government will consider your views.
3. Section 37 of the Health & Safety at Work Act 1974 states that 'Where an offence under any of the relevant statutory provisions committed by a body corporate is proved to have been committed with the consent or connivance of, or to have been attributable to any neglect on the part of, any director... he as well as the body corporate shall be guilty of that offence and shall be liable to be proceeded against and punished accordingly.
4. Section 3(1) of the Health & Safety at Work Act 1974 states that 'It shall be the duty of every employer to conduct his undertaking in such a way as to ensure, so far as is reasonably practicable, that persons not in his employment who may be affected thereby are not thereby exposed to risks to their health or safety.'

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Issued on behalf of the Health and Safety Executive by COI News and PR (South West)