Contractor's death results in large fine for construction firm

Falls from height remain one of the most common causes of fatalities and major injuries in the construction sector. In the period 2011 to 2012, 49 workers lost their lives on construction sites in the UK, with falls from height being a major cause.  Following the death of a man  after falling through a roof while working on the construction of a shopping centre in North Wales, a building firm has been ordered to pay £450,000 in fines and £98,000 costs after being found found guilty of breaching Section 3(1) of the HSWA 1974.

The Crown Court in Mold (North Wales) heard that Watkin Jones & Son Ltd was the principal contractor during the building of the Menai Centre in Bangor and that Thomas Whitmarsh, (aged 21) was working for a company that was sub-contracted to carry out roofwork at the site.

In December 2009, Thomas Whitmarsh was fitting a rubber membrane to a flat concrete roof when he fell nearly six metres through an unguarded opening in the roof to the floor below, sustaining serious head injuries.  He then spent several months in hospital and was making a gradual recovery. Unfortunately, the brain injury he suffered exposed him to a much higher degree of infection and he later died after contracting acute meningitis. The court heard that there was more than an 80-per-cent chance that the injuries from the fall contributed to his death.



An HSE inspector commented that there had been adequate edge protection around the void, but that this had been removed and not put back in place until after the incident. He went on to comment that: 

“Poor coordination between the principal and the roofing contractors on this particular part of the site led to the edge protection being removed from around the roof opening without alternative safeguards in place.

Falls from height are an alarmingly common cause of death and serious injury in construction. All too often, straightforward practical precautions are not considered and workers are put needlessly at risk. Poor management of risk in this industry is unacceptable and HSE will take strong action when necessary.

This tragic case should remind all contractors that work at height must be managed effectively and adequate safeguards should be in place to prevent falls.”



 By way of mitigation, the firm said it takes health and safety seriously but accepts failings took place in relation to this incident. Following the incident, it modified its procedures to ensure that work is safely handed over to contractors.

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