Solar panel MD gets suspended prison sentence for safety breaches

The managing director of a solar panel company has received a suspended prison sentence and the company has been fined, following an incident where a worker was seriously injured falling from height.

Gloucester Crown Court was told that the worker fell through a fragile roof-light at a farm in Kemble on 26 August 2015. The worker suffered fractures to the skull and pelvis because.

The Heath and Safety Executive found that Switch Capital EMEA Ltd had failed to ensure the safety of those working on the roof; they did not install safety netting which would have prevented the fall.

Decision not to use

It was also found Timothy Dobson, who was managing director of Switch Capital EMEA Ltd at the time of the accident, made the decision not to use safety netting.

Switch Capital EMEA Ltd of Sapperton, Gloucestershire pleaded guilty to breaching Regulation 4 (1) of the Work at Height Regulations 2005 and was fined £54,000.00 and ordered to pay costs of £12,000.00.

Mr Timothy Dobson of Sapperton, Gloucestershire pleaded guilty to breaching Section 37 of the Health and Safety at Work Act 1974. He was sentenced to seven months imprisonment, suspended for two years. He was also ordered to complete 150 hours community service and pay costs of £12,000.00.

Speaking after the hearing HSE inspector Simon Chilcott said: “Those in control of work have a responsibility to ensure safe methods of working are used. In this case work was conducted on a fragile roof without safety nets being used. Had this simple precaution been in place, the serious injuries sustained could have been prevented.”

Approaches to managing the risks associated Musculoskeletal disorders

In this episode of the Safety & Health Podcast, we hear from Matt Birtles, Principal Ergonomics Consultant at HSE’s Science and Research Centre, about the different approaches to managing the risks associated with Musculoskeletal disorders.

Matt, an ergonomics and human factors expert, shares his thoughts on why MSDs are important, the various prevalent rates across the UK, what you can do within your own organisation and the Risk Management process surrounding MSD’s.

Listen now!