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Two companies have been fined more than £100,000 after a man fell ten meters through a vulnerable skylight while working on a roof.
Nicolas Vilela suffered multiple injuries in the incident at the Graystone Action Sports Centre, on Brunel Avenue in Salford on November 23, 2022.
Mr Vilela, now 43, was fixing a solar panel in place on the roof when he stepped back and fell through one of the skylights into the skate park below, narrowly missing several people. His horrific injuries included a partial lung collapse, broken ribs, pelvis, femur and left wrist, as well as fractures to the lower vertebrae. He was in the hospital for a month.
Falls from height remain a leading cause of death in the workplace HSE has published guidelines on how these incidents can be avoided.
While the companies were fined, Mr Vilela said the incident had affected him both physically and emotionally.
He said: “It has had an overwhelming and complicated impact on my life because up until then I was a very active, dynamic person.”
“You cannot survive a fall from a height of 10 metres.
“I broke my femur, pelvis, wrist, vertebrae and ribs. A lot worse could have happened, but I am grateful for the fact that I am alive and able to walk, but I will have to live with this trauma for the rest of my life.
“I have developed a fear of heights and a fear of any physical activity that could harm me. I am also very concerned about how my body will react in old age as a result of these injuries.
“I cannot walk more than a mile without feeling pain and getting very tired due to the loss of strength and mobility in my leg. My pelvic fracture prevents me from lifting heavy weight and I live in fear of damaging it further.”
An investigation by the Health and Safety Executive (HSE) found that H2O Renewables Limited (H2O) was the main contractor engaged to install solar panels on the roof of the indoor skate park and had engaged Green Projects Ltd (GPL) as sub-contractor. contractor to assemble the roof-mounted system. H2O planned the work, being aware of several vulnerable skylights in the vicinity of where the solar panels would be installed.
According to H2O’s risk assessment, cones and warning tape would be used as a control measure to alert officers to the risk of falling through the vulnerable roof lights, and fixed scaffolding would be used to prevent the risk of falls from the perimeter of the roof. When the work started on November 22, 2022, the permanent scaffolding was only partially erected and only the cones had been placed next to the skylights.
Despite the fact that there were insufficient control measures to limit the risks of working at height, GPL employees were allowed to start installing the solar panels.
The investigation also found that H2O Renewables Limited and Green Projects Ltd had failed to take appropriate and sufficient precautions to ensure the safety of workers on the roof. Both companies had also failed to establish a safe system of work for the installation of solar panels that would be placed in close proximity to many of the vulnerable skylights present.
H2O Renewables Limited of Hazel Grove, Stockport, pleaded guilty to breaching regulation 13(1) of the Construction (Design and Management) Regulations 2015. They were fined £106,720 and ordered to pay £40,995 costs during a hearing at Manchester Magistrates Court on September 20. November 2024.
At the same hearing, Green Projects Ltd, of Albert Street, Oldham, pleaded guilty to breaching Regulation 6(3) of the Work at Height Regulations 2005. They were fined £13,340 and ordered to pay £1,600 in costs. costs.
After the hearing, HSE Inspector Phil Redman said: “This was a very serious incident and Mr Vilela was extremely lucky to survive.
“A fall from this distance often results in life-changing injuries or death.
“It is a timely reminder that all activities at height must be appropriately planned, managed and controlled using a safe system of work.”
This prosecution was brought by HSE enforcement lawyer Kate Harney and paralegal officer Rebecca Withell.
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