A building firm has been ordered to pay £548,000 in fines and costs after a man fell through a roof while working on the construction of a shopping centre in North Wales.
Mold Crown Court heard that Watkin Jones & Son Ltd was the principal contractor during the building of the Menai Centre in Bangor. Thomas Whitmarsh, 21 was working for a company that was sub-contracted to carry out roofwork at the site.
On 29 May 2007, Mr 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.
Mr Whitmarsh spent several months in hospital and was making a gradual recovery. However, the brain injury he suffered exposed him to a much higher degree of infection and, after contracting acute meningitis, he died on 17 December 2009.
Evidence presented to the court included a pathologist’s findings’ which suggested that there was more than an 80-per-cent chance that the injuries from the fall contributed to his death.
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Poor management of risk in this industry is unacceptable and HSE will take strong action when necessary?
I say, on occasion, given what is reported repeatedly by SHP.
That said, this was a purposeful conviction of the PC and as such it should be applauded.
Although, you would have to question the direct employers commitment to raising competence via training and instruction and thier procedures for refusing to work at height when ungurded voids, leading edges are evident?
What about a client? Was there H&S plan?