Two firms have been fined after a 20-year-old electrical apprentice fell through a fragile roof while installing CCTV at a commercial industrial estate in Weymouth.
The apprentice, employed by electrical contractor Tristan G Murless Limited, was working on 13 July 2022 on the roof of a lean-to attached to a main warehouse. He was using a makeshift crawling board when he fell around 11 feet through the fragile roof onto the concrete floor below.
The project involved installing electrical cables and conduit around the warehouse perimeter in preparation for CCTV. The apprentice lost consciousness before the ambulance arrived and temporarily could not walk. He suffered back injuries, including muscular tissue damage requiring physiotherapy.
A Health and Safety Executive (HSE) investigation found that Tristan G Murless Limited had failed to ensure the health, safety and welfare of its employees. The company had not properly planned the work at height or provided suitable equipment to prevent a fall through the fragile roof.
Surveying firm Ellis and Partners (Bournemouth) Limited was also prosecuted after failing to comply with an HSE requirement to produce documents to assist the investigation. Both companies appeared at Bristol Magistrates’ Court.
Tristan G Murless Limited, of Weymouth, Dorset, pleaded guilty to safety breaches and was fined £16,000 and ordered to pay £4,168 in costs. Ellis and Partners (Bournemouth) Limited, of Bournemouth, Dorset, also pleaded guilty and was fined £6,000 with £1,200 in costs.
HSE inspector Rebecca Gittoes said a significant proportion of serious and fatal incidents each year result from poor planning of work at height. She added that the apprentice, at the start of his career, had been failed by his employer and that a suitable risk assessment, appropriate work equipment and a safe system of work would have prevented the incident.
