A self-employed roofer who was sheeting the roof of a new factory under construction broke his arm and suffered facial injuries after falling 25 feet.
The scaffolding at the roof edge did not comply with the requirements for collective fall protection and the man was able to slide between the scaffolding and the roof surface.
The investigation inspector commented that the man was “lucky to be alive”. The standards required for roof edge protection are clearly defined in the (Work at Height) Regulations and are straightforward to implement. The construction industry is one of the country's biggest, employing over two million people. It is also one of the most dangerous, with 34 of the 72 worker deaths in 2007/8 resulting from a fall from height.
The scaffolding company were fined £27,000 and ordered to pay costs of £6,000, and the construction company were fined £10,000 and ordered to pay costs of £3,000. Both firms pleaded guilty to breaching Regulation 8(a) of the Work at Height Regulations 2005.
Over 4,000 major injuries such as broken bones or fractured skulls are reported to HSE every year by the construction industry, half of them involving falls from height, which are easily preventable.
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