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Carpenter cracks skull in roof fall

22 Feb 13 A Surrey carpentry firm has been fined £5,000 after a worker fractured his skull when he fell through a roof light at a construction site in Cobham.

The rooflight opening through which the worker fell was later boarded to prevent further falls
The rooflight opening through which the worker fell was later boarded to prevent further falls

The 21-year-old, who does not wish to be named, also suffered soft tissue damage to his right hamstring in the fall on 7 June 2012 at a development on Oxshott Rise where a large detached home was being built.

Staines Magistrates' Court heard that he was helping to construct a flat roof with a number of roof light openings for Horley-based D&R Carpentry Ltd. He fell through one of the openings and almost three metres to the ground below.

Health & Safety Executive (HSE) investigators found there was nothing in place to prevent or mitigate a fall, such as safety decking beneath the roof and openings, or a soft landing system.

Magistrates were told the company had previously been warned about height safety by HSE following visits to other sites in 2007 that had resulted in a prohibition notice.

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D&R Carpentry, of Smallfield Road, Horley, was fined £5,000 and ordered to pay £4,407 in costs plus a further £5,000 in compensation after pleading guilty to breaching Section 2(1) of the Health and Safety at Work etc. Act 1974.

After the hearing, HSE inspector Denis Bodger said: "Work at height is inherently fraught with risk, and falls remain the single biggest cause of deaths and serious injury in the construction industry. It is therefore essential that all work at height is properly assessed, managed and monitored to ensure it is carried out safely, and that all necessary precautions are taken to prevent falls and protect workers.

"There were clear failings by D&R Carpentry in this regard at the Cobham development, and an employee suffered serious injury as a result. He could easily have been killed or left with life-changing injuries."

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