Two Hull firms and a company director have been sentenced for joint safety failings relating to the death of a worker who plummeted more than eight metres through a fragile rooflight while cleaning gutters.
Kevin Jackson, a father of five, suffered multiple injuries including several fractures of his skull, 15 broken ribs and severe damage to his lungs and other internal organs. He died in hospital the same day.
On 19 December, the Health and Safety Executive prosecuted director Shaun Cavill, his company Cavill Property Maintenance Ltd., and Garthwest Ltd, after investigating the incident on 29 October 2009.
Hull Crown Court was told that Mr Jackson and a colleague had been hired by Cavills and director Shaun Cavill to clean the gutters and roof of Garthwest's factory in Rotterdam Road. The workers were not given any safety equipment, no protection measures were provided to reduce the risk of falling, and neither man had been trained to work safely at height.
Mr Jackson was on the roof working when his colleague heard a crash and turned to see him fall through a fragile factory rooflight to the concrete floor more than eight metres below.
HSE served a Prohibition Notice on both companies after the incident preventing any further work at height on the site. A subsequent investigation found a series of serious safety failings.
Cavill Property Maintenance Ltd. of The Spinney, Kingswood Park, pleaded guilty to breaching Section 3(1) of the Health and Safety at Work etc. Act 1974 and was fined £65,000.
Garthwest Ltd., of Sutton Fields Industrial Estate, was fined £50,000 with costs of £19,300 after also admitting breaching Section 3(1) of the same Act.
Shaun Cavill, of The Spinney, pleaded guilty to breaching Section 37(1) of the same Act by virtue of his negligence as an individual director. He was fined £25,000.