Safety Matters: The 16-Foot Fall

Outreach Rescue presents Safety Matters, a blog series focussed on workplace safety and accident prevention. In this series of posts, we look at real-life incidents to highlight their causes and consequences. Most importantly, we feel it is important to spotlight stories that provide safety lessons we can learn to prevent similar tragedies.

The purpose of sharing these case studies is to raise awareness, promote best practices, provide valuable resources and encourage a safety-centric culture within workplaces.

Safety Matters: The 16-Foot Fall and the Importance of Workplace Safety

In our mission to emphasise the essential nature of height safety and workplace safety, we bring you another case in our 'Safety Matters' series. This post discusses an incident that took place on a commercial property's rooftop in North London, resulting in a worker’s death.

The Incident

A worker lost his life following a fall from the roof he was repairing. The worker was part of a team working at a commercial premises. Whilst one worker was assigned to remove building materials from a flat roof, another worker was assigned to perform repair work on a pitched, tiled roof.

Whilst carrying out his tasks on the pitched roof from a roofing ladder, the worker fell approximately 16 feet onto a concrete alleyway below. He suffered serious head injuries and a fractured neck. Despite being airlifted to hospital, he died a week later.

The Investigation and Its Findings

A thorough investigation by the Health and Safety Executive (HSE) revealed a grave disregard for regulations. The employer failed to install scaffolding or take any other measures to prevent falls from the roof. This negligence resulted in a loss of life.

The Legal Consequences

The employer was held accountable for this negligent act. He pleaded guilty to breaching Regulation 6(3) of the Work at Height Regulations 2005 and was handed a 14-month custodial sentence.

A Word from the HSE Inspector

An HSE Inspector reflected on the incident, saying, "This tragic incident could have been easily avoided. Assessing and planning work at height is essential to ensuring that suitable and sufficient measures are in place to prevent falls from height."

Comment

This event brings to light the consequences of disregarding The Work at Height Regulations. It underscores the importance of risk assessment, planning, and the use of appropriate safety equipment. It also reiterates the need for comprehensive safety training to prevent such incidents.