Bosses fined £13,000 after worker fell through skylight (From Daily Echo)

Bosses fined £13,000 after worker fell through skylight at New Milton Community Centre in Hampshire

4:00am Friday 8th March 2013 in News By Chris Yandell, Chief Reporter, New Forest

A WORKER plunged through a skylight and narrowly escaped serious injury after his bosses ignored safety regulations, a court heard.

The employee was installing solar panels on the roof of New Milton Community Centre when he fell more than 12ft into the building.

He only escaped injury because he landed on a raised platform that broke his fall.

An investigation by the Health and Safety Executive (HSE) found there were no attachment points on the roof for safety harnesses and no protection had been provided for people working near the edge of the roof or the two skylights.

Gendex Ltd appeared at Southampton Magistrates’ Court yesterday and admitted two breaches of the Work at Height Regulations.

The company had decided it was sufficient merely to warn employees about the potential risk rather than install any safety equipment that might have damaged the roof, the court heard.

Gendex, of Court Road, Swanage, was fined a total of £13,000 and ordered to pay £2,477 in costs.

After the hearing HSE inspector Adam Wycherley said: “Work at height is fraught with risk and falls remain the biggest single cause of death and serious injury in the construction industry.

“Thankfully the worker avoided injury on this occasion and was extremely fortunate to do so.

“The fall was entirely preventable and Gendex has no excuse for failing to do more than it did to mitigate the risks he and others faced.”