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Corrugated roof sheet fails under weight of workman refurbishing barn

Three men have been prosecuted and fined after a worker suffered multiple injuries when he fell 8m metres through a barn roof in Greater Manchester.

Adrian Evens, Andrew Oliver and John Long were prosecuted following the incident in June 2007.

David Pass, aged 28, removing fibre cement roof sheets from the roof of a former riding stable when he fell causing serious injuries to his head and back

He was in a coma for several days and was made partially blind in one eye.

Workman required to balance on steel structure

Steps were not taken to prevent a fall through the fragile material.

The the workman was expected to balance on the steel frame of the building while removing the roof panels.

John Long, 62, was the barn owner and project manager. He was overseeing a conversion into an antiques warehouse and contracted his co-defendants to carry out the work.

Ian Betley, HSE Construction Inspector said:

“All three men failed to plan the work safely in advance. Scaffolding, or a mobile work platform such as a scissor lift, should have been used to remove the corrugated sheets from underneath. There was no need to climb onto the roof.”

“David could easily have been killed when he fell through a fragile roof panel. Workers at the site were expected to balance dangerously on the steel structure, while they knocked through bolts on fragile sheets. Clearly this was very dangerous.

Mr Oliver, of Juniper Crescent in Droylsden, was also fined £2,00 and ordered to pay costs of £2,000. Mr Long, of Fairy Lane in Sale, was fined £1,000 with costs of £1,500.

This article was posted on 14th July 2010 in ALL LATEST NEWS, PROSECUTIONS, ROOFWORK, falls fragile.
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