A 50-year-old father of three is expected to live in a care home for the remainder of his life after suffering horrific injuries when he fell from a roof he was repairing.
Brian Honeyman fell almost 20 feet from the roof of a house in South View, Stenhousemuir, Scotland in July 2012, sustaining serious damage to his head and spine.
Self-employed roofer Adam Menzies, 43, of Falkirk Road, Larbert, Falkirk, had employed Mr Honeyman to assist with the job.
The Crown Office for the Procurator Fiscal Service brought health and safety charges against Mr Menzies after a Health and Safety Executive investigation.
Inspectors said Mr Menzies did not adequately plan the work, supervise the operation or ensure it was carried out safely. In addition, no scaffolding or alternative method of preventing a fall was used.
Mr Menzies denied the offences but was found guilty and fined £8,000 at Falkirk Sheriff Court.
“Adam Menzies failed to provide a suitable scaffold that would have protected against this fall from height,” said HSE principal inspector Isabelle Martin.
“This disregard for basic safety precautions has resulted in Brian Honeyman suffering horrific injuries, from which he will never recover.
“Sadly, HSE inspectors find this kind of poor practice is all-too-common on domestic refurbishment projects.
“Working at height remains one of the biggest causes of workplace deaths and serious injuries. There must always be fall protection when carrying out roof work, no matter how big or small the job that’s being done.”
In an unrelated case, David William McVey was fined at total of £10,000 at Ayr Sherrif Court after a casual worker fell and was killed while repairing a shed roof in August 2012.
William Sproat, of Patna, East Ayrshire, Scotland, was employed by Mr McVey after the roof at Brunton Farm, New Crummnock, was damaged in a storm.
The two men used ladders climb onto the roof, but Mr Sproat fell onto a concrete floor 18 feet below them.
Investigations revealed that the men had not been wearing safety harnesses and no procedures were in place to guard against falls.
Mr McVey, of Jellieston Terrace, Patna, admitted offences under the Health and Safety at Work Act 1974.
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