He climbed a ladder onto the roof to begin replacing the sheets and capping. A short time into the work, there was a loud crack and one of his colleagues turned around to see him disappearing through a skylight. He fell approximately eight metres to the concrete floor below.
He sustained a broken arm and wrist, and needed a bone graft as well as two operations to insert three plates and six pins. He was off work for ten months and still has continuing pain in his arm with numbness and limited movement, as well as the scars left by his operations.
An investigation by the Health and Safety Executive (HSE) found that at no time before work started, or while it was ongoing, had the Employer assessed any of the risks involved or put a safe system of work in place. HSE inspectors also found that none of the workers had any safety provision while on the roof. If the Employer had taken simple safety measures, the Employee would not have sustained these injuries.
Again this highlights that more attention needs to be paid to the issue of falls from height. This inevitably means looking far more carefully at the equipment available to prevent these accidents. Whether it is edge protection barriers, fall arrest systems or any other type of preventative solution, all have their part to play and there are many effective systems available on today’s market.
One thing is clear - falls from height is a serious and potentially life-threatening issue and one that nobody can afford to ignore.
Our specialised team here at Pannone work with a wide range of work accident related. If you or a member of your family has been injured in an accident at work, call our specialist personal injury solicitors on 0800 0384 384 o r click here to book a free no obligation meeting.
In my area they have commercials about people tying off so they don't fall but I very rarely see anyone actually doing this.
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