Construction company fined after Sheffield fall.

A construction company has been fined £30,000 for safety breaches after a self-employed general builder fell seven metres onto a concrete floor while working at a home in Sheffield.

Sheffield Magistrates’ Court heard how the builder was working for Clear Property Solutions (SY) Limited on 11 April 2018. He had just finished installing a flat rubber roof on a dormer extension at the rear of the domestic property in Abbeydale Road, Sheffield. As he was leaving the flat roof to get onto a scaffold using an untied and unsecured folding ladder, it slipped and he fell onto the concrete floor below.

The 34-year-old builder suffered shattered heels and a fractured skull resulting in swelling and bleeding on the brain following the incident. An investigation by the Health and Safety Executive (HSE) found that Clear Property Solutions (SY) Ltd had not completed any risk assessments, method statements or a construction phase plan for the works. Workers at the site were also not trained in doing their job at height.

Clear Property Solutions (SY) Limited of John Street, Sheffield, pleaded guilty to contravening Regulation 6 (3) of the Work at Height Regulations 2005 and was fined £30,000 and ordered to pay £1,302.60 costs.

After the hearing, HSE inspector Stuart Whitesmith said: “This incident could so easily have been avoided by simply carrying out correct control measures and safe working practices.  “In this case the builder suffered life-threatening injuries which could have been avoided by installing guardrails around the perimeter of the flat roof, with a gate and secured ladder access.”