Special Care on Fragile Roofs

A recent case clearly indicates the procedures that should be implemented to ensure safe working at height and unfortunately, what can go tragically wrong when these are ignored.

A Cumbria based building firm and its owner have both been found guilty of corporate manslaughter following the death of a worker, after he fell nearly 8 metres through a roof on to the concrete floor below. The important message from this tragic incident is that the worker involved did not fall off the roof but rather, he fell through it. More specifically he fell through an unsafe skylight which was clearly designed not to support his weight. The HSE investigation found that the owner of the building firm knew that the skylights were unsafe, but did nothing to prevent the workers walking on them and then falling through.

The company pleaded guilty to corporate manslaughter and breaching section 2(1) of the Health and Safety at Work Act and was fined £200,000 and £20,000 respectively. In addition it also received a publicity order to inform people of the case and ordered to pay £31,500 in costs.

The owner of the company also pleaded guilty and he was sentenced to eight months in prison, suspended for two years and 200 hours of unpaid work.