City firm fined 20,000 after worker fell 16ft

By Chris Smith Tuesday 11 March 2014 Updated: 12/03 16:00

ENGINEERING firm Sarginsons Industries has been fined 20,000 after an employee was hurt in a 16ft fall while carrying out maintenance work.

Bosses at the company on Torrington Avenue in Tile Hill said they deeply regretted the incident and had taken action to avoid a repeat.

Magistrates heard the 49-year-old worker was helping out during the foundrys shutdown period in August last year with cleaning and maintenance work.

He got up to the gutters by ladder after first climbing onto and across a smaller fragile roof. But he then fell through a roof sheet to the factory floor below, suffering the painful rib injuries.

The court was told no measures were in place to prevent or mitigate a fall, such as netting on the underside of the roof, and that there was no safe access or working arrangements.

Investigators from the Health and Safety Executive (HSE) also revealed gutters had been cleaned by the firm in the same manner for many years.

The worker, who was from Coventry, has felt numbness in his left leg since the incident as well as ongoing mental anxiety and is no longer able to drive, struggles with everyday tasks and has been forced to curb his love of Kabaddi, a sport in which teams compete to tag opponents.

HSE inspector Paul Cooper said: "The danger posed by working at height, and in particular falling through fragile roof sheets, is well known.

"The company had a risk assessment that stated control measures would be needed for roof working, including creating a safe working platform with scaffold boards, or netting out beneath the roof sheets, as well as close supervision. However, none of this was acted upon."

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City firm fined 20,000 after worker fell 16ft