A York-based company has been fined £23,000 after one of its workers fell seven metres through a rooflight while installing solar power racking.
54-year-old Peter Bettison from Leeds was installing the racks on a farm building roof in November 2011 when he unwittingly stepped on one of the rooflights. It instantly gave way, sending him crashing nearly seven metres to the concrete floor.
The Health and Safety Executive (HSE) investigation discovered that even though the company had identified the presence of the rooflight when carrying out two site surveys, it had failed to take any action to protect its workers from falling through the rooflights.
The HSE also said a sign on the side of the barn warning of a fragile roof was also apparently disregarded.
Duncan Plumbing, Heating and Electrics Ltd, was fined the maximum amount that magistrates were able to impose after pleading guilty to a breach of the Health and Safety at Work etc Act 1974.
After the case, HSE Inspector Sarah Lee said, "Mr Bettison suffered devastating injuries in this fall and could so easily have been killed. His fall may have been broken by hitting the hay bales and, if so they probably saved his life.
"The overall system of work employed by Duncan Heating, Plumbing and Electrics Ltd was inherently unsafe. They did not recognise or properly identify the dangers faced by their employees so safety measures were totally neglected.
"It is astonishing that the company, having got the information about rooflights at their fingertips, subsequently failed to do anything about it. Had they been protected from above or netted from below, this incident could have been avoided.
"Falling from height is still the biggest killer in the construction industry and also leads to many injuries. The risks are also well-known in the trade so there is no excuse for putting workers at unnecessary risk."
