Prison Sentence for Health and Safety Negligence
Posted on January 23, 2017
A businessman in Birmingham has received 30 months in prison after one of his employees fell to his death from a factory roof.
The Incident
The two Polish speaking employees had been instructed, through an interpreter, to carry out repairs to the roof of a warehouse. The interpreter informed police after the accident that there was no personal protective equipment supplied, no risk assessments involved and no discussions around safety procedures or insurance.
On the second day of working on the roof of the building it cracked open and they both fell onto a concrete floor below. One of the men suffered minor injuries but unfortunately the other was rushed to a nearby hospital and later passed away due to serious his head injuries.
Because of the incident the following police investigation was carried with cooperation with the Health and Safety Executive.
Sentencing
After pleading guilty to two breaches under the Health and Safety at Work Act at Birmingham Crown Court the businessman was sentenced for gross negligence which led to the death of one of his staff. For this he received 30 months in prison and the company was also fined £144,000 and ordered to pay costs of £44,600.
West Midlands police said that “His main priority had been to get roof repairs done as cheaply as possible with disregard to the safety of workers. The recklessness and negligence shown in this case had led directly to the death and we are pleased the severity of this was recognised in court. The main priority was to get the job done as cheaply as possible with complete disregard for the safety of these workers – with tragic consequences. We hope this sentence sends out a message to others than health and safety is not an optional extra.”
The HM Inspector of Health and Safety said,
“Work on fragile roofs is extremely hazardous and requires proper planning and oversight to ensure that safety precautions are considered and implemented. In this case the client did nothing to check that work on their roof would be carried out safely. As a consequence of this neglect the company acted in a way which made it almost inevitable that a fall would occur, there was simply nothing put in place to prevent it. Businesses have a major influence on how work is carried out on their projects, they need to take an active interest at each stage of the work and provide sufficient time and resources. Their decisions and approach have a significant impact on the health, safety and welfare of their projects. This tragedy was entirely preventable. ”