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His employer has now been fined £50,000 for failing to provide a safe method of working.
Neil Knox, then 69, of Pencaitland, East Lothian, was replacing plastic rooflights on a farm shed in Lauder, in the Scottish Borders. He was described as a time-served and experienced worker but without any formal training in roofwork.
On 14th March 2013 he fell almost four metres through a fragile rooflight.
Mr Knox was employed by David Miller Contracts Ltd to carry out roof repairs at the farm. On the day of the fall, he had climbed onto the roof using a ladder and crawlerboards to to access the rooflights. He removed three of them before being called down for a tea break.
Mr Knox has no recollection of the incident that followed. A colleague knew he had gone back up onto the roof as he heard him moving about before hearing a loud noise. He found Mr Knox lying on the floor underneath a fourth rooflight which had a large hole in it.
Mr Knox was airlifted to hospital with broken ribs, a broken sternum and punctured lungs.
An investigation by the Health & Safety Executive (HSE) found that David Miller Contracts Ltd had identified that the roof surface was likely to be fragile but failed to carry out a site-specific risk assessment and subsequently failed to plan the work properly.
The company also failed to identify that the work to replace the rooflights could be done from a working platform beneath the roof, or by using safety nets or harnesses to keep workers safe.
There were no measures in place to prevent someone standing on the fragile roof or rooflights other than the crawlerboards, which did not have any handrails to prevent workers stepping off them.
David Miller Contracts Ltd, of Steading Cottage, Newlands Farm, Gifford, East Lothian, was fined £50,000 after pleading guilty to breaching Regulation 4 of the Work At Height Regulations 2005.
Following the case, HSE inspector Ritchie McCrae said: “This was an entirely avoidable incident. Falling from height is one of the most common reasons for injuries and even fatalities at work.
“David Miller Contracts Ltd should have been aware of the risks and the precautions that needed to be taken before starting the work. The dangers of fragile roofs are well known and consideration should have been given to using a platform underneath the rooflights or installing safety nets.
“The system of work planned by the company was unsafe, resulting in terrible life-changing injuries which have had a profound effect on Mr Knox and his family.”
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