Firm facing payout over worker's roof fall

AN ENGINEERING firm in Sheffield has been ordered to pay out more than £3,000 after a worker suffered a crushed vertebra and two fractured bones in his back when he fell almost four metres from a roof.

By The Newsroom

Published 23rd Apr 2010, 11:10 BST

Updated 23rd Apr 2010, 11:11 BST

The Health and Safety Executive (HSE) prosecuted Ultimate Industries Ltd, of Northwood Drive, for allowing work to be carried out without adequate safety equipment.

The company was fined 1,000 and ordered to pay 2,125 costs at Southern Derbyshire Magistrates' Court after pleading guilty to breaching the Work at Height Regulations 2005.

In August 2008 staff from Ultimate Industries were roofing a "lean-to" building in a compound in Burnaston, Derbyshire. A worker was on the roof of the fabricated frame when he fell, resulting in the serious injuries to his back.

The court heard Ultimate Industries had not properly planned the work or provided adequate safety equipment.

HSE onspector Samantha Farrar said: "This case shows the need for companies to ensure that work at height is properly planned and supervised and that appropriate equipment is provided."