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Firm failed to check competence of engineer and is now in liquidation
Foxtel Ltd, has been prosecuted following the death of engineer Noel Corbin, 29, who suffered fatal head injuries when he fell over 13m from a four-storey London house on 3 February 2008.
The Old Bailey heard that safety equipment found in Mr Corbin’s van was unsuitable for the type of work he was undertaking. He was working on a satellite dish on the property when he fell from a flat roof or whilst walking across a sloping roof.
Mr Corbin was engaged without references from his previous employer. Training certificates were not provided and no assessment was made of his competence.
HSE hopes conviction sends message to others
Foxtel Ltd, based in Wates Way, Brentwood, Essex, pleaded guilty to breaching section 2(1) of the Health and Safety at Work etc. Act 1974. The firm is no longer trading and was shown to have no assets. The court fined the company £1.
Charles Linfoot, HSE inspector, said:
“Mr Corbin’s death has had a devastating effect on his family made all the more tragic by the incident was easily preventable. Owing to the foreseeable risk of falling and the lack of suitable access equipment, the work should have been cancelled.
Foxtel should have carried out a full site-specific risk assessment, planning and organising the work to be executed in a safe manner. It is not acceptable to simply delegate health and safety duties to employees without adequate instruction, training, monitoring or supervision.
I hope the conviction of Foxtel Ltd sends a clear message to other installation companies in London and elsewhere that where access to residential properties from height is required, companies are ultimately responsible for carrying out a full site-specific risk assessment.”