Company Fined after Worker Fatally Falls through Roof

The below case warns of the risks associated with working on fragile surfaces. Businesses that instruct a contractor to carry out construction work need to ensure the contractor implements a safe system to complete the work.

Liverpool Crown Court heard how on 22 May 2017, the worker was finishing snagging work on a replacement roof. The roofer was examining a section of the old roof consisting of fragile asbestos cement sheets, which caved in. He fell through the sheets six metres to the ground below suffering fatal injuries.

An investigation by the Health and Safety Executive (HSE) found that the section of the old roof which had been accessed by the roofer did not have safety nets installed and the building occupier failed to implement reasonably practicable measures to limit the risk to those carrying out work to the roof.

Owners of the building Pearsons Glass, of Maddrell Street, Liverpool, pleaded guilty to breaching the Health and Safety at Work etc. Act 1974, sections 3. The company was fined £80,000 and ordered to pay costs of £6,656.

The prosecution of the roofing contractor is ongoing.