Prosecutions

The labourer fell 15 feet while fitting roof panels at a construction site in Toxteth being managed by his employer. He lost his balance while on a narrow beam he was using as no scaffolding had been erected.

The 51-year-old father-of-two, from Toxteth, was paralysed from the waist down and died of pneumonia just over seven months later as a result of his injuries. His employer was prosecuted by the Health and Safety Executive (HSE) following the death.

Liverpool Crown Court heard the employer had hired the labourer to fit roof panels on an industrial unit he owned in Toxteth. But no scaffolding was supplied and the labourer had to carry out the job while standing on four-inch wide steel beams, leading to him losing his balance and falling.

He underwent an eight hour operation after the incident on 12 June 2008 and was readmitted to hospital in December with illnesses related to his condition. He died on 27 January 2009.

During the HSE investigation, video was discovered which had been filmed by the labourer on his mobile phone in the weeks before his fall. It shows labourers carrying out work while on top of the narrow roof beams.

Investigations also revealed a bricklayer had escaped with minor injuries after falling from scaffolding at the site in an earlier incident. The worker had refused to continue working for the employer after the incident.

The employer admitted four breaches of health and safety regulations after failing to take steps to prevent a fall which could have resulted in injury, and failing to ensure that work on his site was being carried out safely. He also did not fulfil his legal duty to report the incident to HSE.

He was fined £112,000 and ordered to pay £19,331 in prosecution costs on 13 January 2012.

Speaking after the hearing, the investigating inspector from the HSE said:

"Property developers must understand that health and safety rules need to be adhered to at all times, regardless of how small a project may be.

"As the project manager at the site, the employer was in charge of buying in materials and employing people to carry out work, but he completely failed to take any steps to protect his workforce. The labourer was balancing on narrow beams with absolutely nothing in place to stop him from falling.

"Had the employer used scaffolding or netting as he should have done, the labourer would still be alive today. I sincerely hope that this case acts as a warning to other property developers who think that the law doesn't apply to them."