Farmworker suffered severe injuries in fall

Date:

1 February 2012

A farmworker suffered severe facial injuries after falling 16ft through a shed roof in Cornwall.

Bodmin Magistrates' Court heard self-employed worker, James Best, 24, of Blisland was asked to help remove fibre cement roof sheets from a shed at Park Farm, Washaway, near Bodmin on 12 July 2011.

The Health and Safety Executive (HSE) brought the prosecution against Martin Dairy, as a result of the incident that left Mr Best with a broken jaw, damaged eye socket and broken arm.

Magistrates were told Mr Best was working on the shed roof for Martin Dairy when he fell 16ft on to the concrete floor below. They heard no plans had been made for the work and apart from a fragile warning sign at the shed and inadequate crawling board, there were no safety measures on site.

The court was told that fibre cement roofs, used in commercial buildings, are known to be fragile and HSE has long established guidance to warn of the fragility of roof sheets and how they should not be expected to support the weight of a person standing on them.

Speaking after the hearing, HSE Inspector, Georgina Speake, said:

"There was no assessment of the state of the fragile roof and no written plan of works for the demolition, which is required by law.

"Martin Dairy did not provide proper equipment to do the job. Although there were crawling boards to allow safe access to the roof, these were not wide enough, increasing the risk of someone having to walk on the roof. There was also a complete absence of measures to reduce the risks of serious injuries in the event of a fall, such as safety nets or a crash deck.

"This incident could so easily have led to a fatality and could have been prevented with proper planning. Falls from height are one of the most common causes of fatalities and serious injury in both the construction and agricultural industries, which continue to remain two of the most high risk industries in which to work."

Martin Dairy Ltd of St Mabyn pleaded guilty to a breach of Regulation 4 of the Work at Height Regulations 2005 and was fined £4,000 and ordered to pay £1,033 in costs.

Further information on how to reduce the risk of falls from height can be found on the HSE website 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. Regulation 4 of the Work at Height Regulations 2005 states: Every employer shall ensure that work at height is (a) properly planned; (b) appropriately supervised; and (c) carried out in a manner which is so far as is reasonably practicable safe, and that its planning includes the selection of work equipment in accordance with regulation 7.

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