Worker Sustains Serious Injuries Following Roof Fall

A Chesterfield based construction company has pleaded guilty following a subcontractor’s 2019 fall from height.

Work was carried out on a roof at a domestic extension in Nottingham when a serious incident occurred in 2019. The victim, a subcontractor, had been hired to complete work on the roof of an extension which contained a skylight and wooden joists.

The accident occurred when the roof was accessed via a ladder which then led to the subcontractor working on an unprotected trestle platform. Whilst sitting on one of the joists, the roof gave way, causing the subcontractor to crash into the concrete floor below and sustain life changing injuries, including a brain trauma and broken neck.

An investigation carried out by the HSE identified that the construction company who had hired the subcontractor had failed to adequately consider the associated risks or to properly plan the work.

The trestle platforms did not have suitable edge protection, and there were no other fall mitigation measures in place (e.g. Safety Decking). If safety decking was installed by the construction company, the risk of fall would have been mitigated as the subcontractor would have a sturdy working platform to walk on and carry out the work required.

Speaking at the hearing Phill Gratton, HSE Inspector, stated:

 “This was a tragic and wholly avoidable incident, caused by the failure of the host company to implement safe systems of work, and failure to ensure that work at height was properly planned and appropriately supervised.

This risk was further amplified by the company’s failure to undertake a number of simple safety measures including conducting pre-start checks on the training of workers, planning work to ensure that working methods were safe, and supervision to ensure that dangerous working methods could be observed and challenged.”

At JMAC Safety Systems we eliminate the need to work at height. Our MacDeck safety decking system provides a safe working platform in which maintenance work can be carried out, allowing you to work in confidence knowing you have the strongest safety platform under your feet.

With MacDeck you can work more efficiently and safely on a profiled non-slip surface with high visibility.

For more information on our safety decking working platforms, contact Aaron Foley on 01642 563696