Third time not so lucky

Unbelievably, three different employees fell through skylights on the same roof at three separate times. The first was gutter cleaning, the next was dispatched to take photos of the scene and fell through another skylight and the third was sent to repair the skylights. The third employee was left paralysed. A fine of £5,000 has been levied on the Company in question.

The prosecuting inspector at the HSE, said, "It is astonishing that virtually the same incident was allowed to happen on three separate occasions. A man was sent onto a roof without safety equipment, despite two others falling through skylights less than a month earlier. As a result, this employee is likely to need to use a wheelchair for the rest of his life. If the project had been properly planned, using appropriate equipment for work at height, then all three workers would have remained uninjured. More workplace deaths are caused by falls from height than anything else but companies continue to allow workers to work dangerously on roofs. It is vital that lessons are learnt from this tragic case."