An employee at T&J Leigh was helping joinery contractor Harry Jackson to re-roof an old feed mill building at Ghyll View Farm in Longton, Lancashire on 1 November 2016 when he fell 5 m through a gap. He landed on a concrete floor and sustained serious head and arm injuries.
The Health and Safety Executive (HSE) investigation found the roof work was not properly planned. There were no measures in place to prevent or mitigate a fall from the roof.
T & J Leigh (a partnership) pleaded guilty to breaching s2(1) of the Health and Safety at Work Act at Preston Magistrates' Court and was fined £50,000 plus £2,855 in costs.
The joinery contractor pleaded guilty to breaching s3 (2) of the Health and Safety at Work Act and was given a 16-week prison sentence, suspended for 12 months. Jackson, from Much Hoole, South Ribble, Lancashire, was also ordered to carry out 150 hours' unpaid work and pay costs of £2,855.
Speaking after the hearing, HSE inspector Steven Boyd said: "A fall from this distance could easily have been fatal."
Open-access content
3rd April 2018
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