Infiniti Roofing and Construction Ltd has been sentenced for breaches of safety regulations after an employee fell through a gap in scaffolding, sustaining multiple injuries, whilst working on a building in Scarborough.
In November 2017 a 20-year-old laborer who was working on the roof fell three metres through a gap in the scaffolding, onto an office roof below, causing injuries to his left wrist and hand.
An investigation by the Health and Safety Executive (HSE) found that when the labourer was moving insulation panels on the roof, he stumbled and fell through the gap. Although the company had taken measures to reduce the risk of a fall, the scaffolding did not fully extend along the roof in the area where the insulation panels were stacked and stored.
The fall resulted in the labourer sustaining a dislocation to his left wrist and a broken bone in his hand which required him to undergo several operations.
Infiniti Roofing and Construction Ltd pleaded guilty to breaching the Health and Safety at Work etc Act 1974, was fined £22,667 and ordered to pay £7,228 in costs.
HSE inspector Jayne Towey commented: "The accident could have been prevented if edge protection, constructed and installed to industry standards, was in place where there was a risk of a fall from height".
