Landlord fined in fatal health and safety incident
A property owner with property in Middlesex is being fined due to a death of a self-employed contractor. The contractor was called to replace a roof on the landlord’s property. The property owner was contacted about a wet ceiling in a bathroom upstairs in the property. The landlord decided the roof needed to be replaced and the contractor arranged for two labourers along with his brother to help with the work. The incident happened in 2009 where the contractor was found lying unconscious on the ground close to a ladder. The work was nearly complete at the time and sadly, the man did not regain consciousness. A day later, he was pronounced dead from neck and head injuries of a serious nature.
The HSE was called in for health and safety audits to determine the cause of the accident and if any fault needed to be laid. It was found that no scaffolding was on the property. The workers along with the contractor were also using two ladders to get access to the roof. At this time, it is still not known if the contractor even had the experience to do the roof work, but it is known that the three workers helping did not have proper health and safety training for work at heights or the training to do roofing. The landlord must pay £4,000 in a fine and £4,100 in court costs. He did state he is guilty of breaching regulation 9(1) of the safety regulations.
