Building contractor to pay £548,000 following death of worker

Date:

4 October 2012

A building contractor was today ordered to pay a total of £548,000 after a worker fell through a roof while working on the construction of the Menai Centre in Bangor, Wales.

Thomas Whitmarsh, 21, of Batley in West Yorkshire, was employed by a roofing contractor working for principal contractor, Watkin Jones & Son Ltd, on the roof of the shopping centre on 29 May 2007. He fell nearly six metres through an unguarded opening in the roof to the floor below, sustaining serious head injuries.

He spent several months in hospital and was making a gradual recovery. However, the brain injury Mr Whitmarsh suffered exposed him to a much higher degree of infection. He contracted acute meningitis and died on 17 December 2009.

Evidence presented to Mold Crown Court included a pathologist's findings which suggested that there was more than an 80 per cent chance that the injuries from the fall contributed to his death.

The Health and Safety Executive (HSE) prosecuted Watkin Jones & Son Ltd for failing to ensure Mr Whitmarsh's safety while at work.

The court was told today (4 Oct) that edge protection around the opening in the roof had been removed prior to the incident, and the company had failed to provide an alternative means to protect against falls.

The company, which is based at Llandygai Industrial Estate in Bangor, was found guilty of breaching Section 3(1) of the Health and Safety at Work etc Act 1974. It was fined £450,000 and ordered to pay £98,000 in costs.

Following the hearing, HSE inspector Chris Wilcox said:

"Poor co-ordination between the principal and the roofing contractors on this particular part of the site led to the edge protection being removed from around the roof opening without alternative safeguards in place.

"Falls from height are an alarmingly common cause of death and serious injury in construction. All too often straightforward practical precautions are not considered and workers are put needlessly at risk. Poor management of risk in this industry is unacceptable and HSE will take strong action when necessary.

"This tragic case should remind all contractors that work at height must be managed effectively and adequate safeguards should be in place to prevent falls."

Falls from height remains one of the most common causes of fatalities and major injuries in the construction sector. In 2011/12 49 workers lost their lives on construction sites in the UK, with falls from height being a major cause. More information on working at height can be found at www.hse.gov.uk/falls and www.hse.gov.uk/construction

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. Section 3 (1) of the Health and Safety at Work etc Act 1974 states: "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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