James Coe, 25, from Strathaven, was one of several people employed by John Watson Leggate to repair the roof at a local farm when the incident occurred on 26 August 2010.
Hamilton Sheriff Court was told that Mr Coe had been lifted up to the cowshed roof after standing on a silage cutter fitted to a telehandler.
He stepped off the cutter and onto the roof, which was made of asbestos sheets that were just 6mm thick, before walking across it towards the ridge to access the opposite side.
As there were no supporting timbers or boards, the roof sheets on which he was standing gave way, causing him to fall through. He struck tensioned wire underneath before landing on the wire.
Mr Coe was taken to hospital with bruising to his ribs and a cut to his head.
An investigation by the Health & Safety Executive (HSE) found that Mr Leggate had alerted his workers to the dangers of the roof and its fragility and had advised them to use timbers and boards to spread their weight. The HSE considers this method as inadequate and out of date.
In addition, the use of the telehandler and silage cutter was a high risk method for putting the men on the roof, exposing them to a significant risk of falling.
The investigation also found that John Leggate was only on site periodically to monitor the progress of the works, and that the instructions and advice that had been given to the men were inadequate. The men themselves were not competent or trained for the task.
HSE concluded that John Leggate had failed to properly plan and appropriately supervise work being carried out at height, and to ensure that the work was carried out in a safe manner.
John Watson Leggate, 73, of The Ward, Strathaven, was fined £750 after pleading guilty to breaching Regulation 4 of the Work at Height Regulations 2005.
HSE principal inspector Graeme McMinn said after the hearing: “This was an entirely avoidable incident. Falls from height remain one of the most common reasons for injuries and even fatalities at work, and Mr Coe was extremely fortunate not to have been more severely injured.
“The risks associated with work at height, and fragile roofs in particular, are very well known, and the HSE has produced substantial amounts of free advice to assist duty holders to comply with the relevant legislative and regulatory requirements.”
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