The roofing company fined £ 40,000 after the worker smashed the eye socket and fractured the skull

A roofing company was fined £ 40,000 after a worker fell off a roof, smashed his eye socket and fractured his skull.

Roof garden maker Phil Coppell Ltd appeared in court after the 59-year-old suffered a cerebral haemorrhage in the Newton-Le-Willows incident last June.

The Health and Safety Executive (HSE) was called in to investigate and prosecute the Manchester-based umbrella company for serious safety deficiencies.

Manchester Magistrates’ Court heard that two workers had been repairing the roof of the conservatory.

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While working alone on the roof, the employee lost his footing and fell more than six feet onto a terrace below.

The court was told that no measures had been taken to prevent the risk of a fall.

HSE also prosecuted Phil Coppell Ltd for the fact that they failed to report an earlier incident in 2013 where the same Bolton employee fell off a roof and lost consciousness while another worker broke several after falling through a skylight Ribs suffered.

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HSE Inspector Christine McGlynn said, “This incident could have been avoided if the company had learned from two similar incidents in 2013.

“The risks of working from a height are well known and there are plenty of guides.

“The employees of this company were exposed to the risk of falls over a long period of time.

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“In general, this type of work is located at the back of the premises and is not visible or easy to monitor. However, this prosecution should make it clear to other companies working on conservatory roofs in particular that they should take control measures to prevent the risk of falling ”.

Phil Coppell Ltd of Cemetery Road, Radcliffe, Greater Manchester pleaded guilty to four health and safety violations.

The company was fined £ 40,280 and paid £ 1,464.