A school in Essex did not report an incident where a caretaker sustained four fractured ribs and a gashed head after falling more than three metres through a fragile glass-fibre roof until a year after it happened. Sitting on 23 June, Basildon magistrates heard how the caretaker had been clearing rubbish from the fragile canopy at Brentwood County High School, on 28 February 2007. As he was carrying out this task, a panel broke beneath him, causing him to fall on to the concrete floor of the playground below. He has suffered recurrent migraines as a result of the fall.
The court heard that the school had not properly planned or assessed the work and assumed the canopy could take the weight of a man. It did not follow previous advice provided by Essex County Council on how to manage work at height.
Brentwood County High School pleaded guilty to breaching reg. 4(1) of the Work at Height Regulations 2005 by failing to properly plan and supervise work at height, and reg.3(1)(b)(ii) of the Reporting of Injuries, Diseases and Dangerous Occurrences Regulations 1995 for failing to notify the incident to the HSE within ten days. It was handed down a single fine of £1500 and told to pay full costs of £2862.
The school said in mitigation that it had purchased the canopy on the strength of an advertisement from the supplier that had showed a car resting on the roof to demonstrate that it could hold a considerable weight. It said the non-reporting of the incident had been a one-off oversight. There had been some confusion as the school’s site manager had been off work sick on several occasions and although it was thought he had submitted a report to the bursar, it was subsequently revealed that he had not.
Matthew Tackling, the HSE inspector who investigated the case and prosecuted it in court, commented: “Falls from height are the biggest killer of people at work. In this case an employee suffered serious injury that has affected his life since and that is only now beginning to improve.
“Proper planning and assessment of work at height is vital to identify the risks involved and safe ways of working. This should include consideration of the strength of the materials anyone may stand on. People might fall through fragile material as well as off the edge.”
