Contractor fined £120,000 after carpenter dies in fall
Summary
An Oxfordshire contractor has been fined after a carpenter died following a fall from the first floor during refurbishment work in Gloucestershire. The Health and Safety Executive found that work at height had not been properly planned or supervised, with inadequate controls in place to prevent falls through open gaps in the structure.
Why it matters
Residential surveyors involved in refurbishment, defect inspection or project oversight should note the fatal risks associated with incomplete floor structures and unsafe access arrangements. The case reinforces the need to identify and report unsafe work-at-height practices where surveyors encounter live construction activity.
Key points
- A carpenter died after falling from the first floor at Manor Barn House, Nether Westcote.
- HSE said the work at height was not properly planned, supervised or carried out safely.
- Open gaps, missing joists and simultaneous floor removal increased the fall risk.
- WG Carter Ltd was fined £120,000 after pleading guilty to a breach of the Work at Height Regulations 2005.
- HSE issued a prohibition notice until safer methods and controls were introduced.
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