The boss was also personally prosecuted and fined £7,000.
Bradford-based Watershed (Roofing) Ltd, a framework contractor for North Yorkshire County Council, had been contracted to refurbish the flat roof of Aspin Park School in Knaresborough. The company and one of its directors, Steven Derham, had engaged 52-year-old self-employed brick-layer Barry Tyson to carry out brickwork for the job in August 2011.
Mr Tyson had been kneeling on the roof working but tripped backwards when he stood up and fell through a roof-light and into the boys’ lavatories two metres below. He was taken to hospital by air ambulance but died later from his head injuries.
A Health & Safety Executive investigation found that Watershed had prepared a construction phase plan that stated that before work was carried out, the plastic domes of all roof-lights needed to be removed and the apertures boarded over to prevent falls. But when roofers accessed the roof it was found that the domes could not be easily removed.
Bradford Crown Court heard this week that Watershed director Steven Derham visited the site on the first day to check it had been set up correctly. The difficulties with removing the roof-lights were discussed with the workforce. It was decided to go ahead without any covering for them.
Watershed (Roofing) Limited of Thornton Road in Bradford pleaded guilty to breaching section 3(1) of the Health and Safety at Work etc Act 1974. It was fined £80,000 and ordered to pay £39,381.32 in costs.
Steven John Derham, 47, of Winterton Drive, Low Moor in Bradford pleaded guilty in his role as director of the company to a breach of section 37(1) of the Health and Safety at Work etc Act 1974 and was fined £7000.
HSE inspector Martin Hutton said after the hearing: “Mr Tyson’s death was entirely preventable. The risks of falling through fragile materials are well known in industry and yet they remain an all-too-common occurrence. Control measures are often simple and cheap to install and companies must ensure they are put in place before workers are put at risk.
“Watershed and Mr Derham knew this but allowed work to continue without any protection measures. However, both defendants pleaded guilty at an early stage and have taken remedial action to prevent a recurrence.”
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