A firm in Aberdeenshire has been prosecuted for serious safety failings following the death of a man who feel over five metres through a fragile roof.
57-year-old Nikolajs Naumovs, a Latvian national who had only arrived in Scotland two weeks prior to the incident in August 2009 was working on a roof at a building in Fraserburgh, which was owned by butchers Bruce of the Broch 1886 Ltd.
Peterhead Sheriff Court heard earlier this month (18th February) that on the day of the incident the worker had enlisted the help of his nephew, Nikolajs Cernovs in the removal of asbestos cement sheets for the roof of the building.
The pair had reached the roof with a telehandler and, whilst the basket was being unloaded on the ground were sitting near to the apex of the roof. However, suddenly and without warning, the fragile roof collapsed beneath them.
Mr Naumovs’ nephew was able to grab onto something and left hanging from a wall, however Mr Naumovs fell more than five metres to the concrete floor below. He suffered head injuries and died at the scene.
An investigation was launched by the Health and Safety Executive (HSE) in the incident. It found that, prior to the incident the managing director of the company had visited the property to plan the following day’s work with Mr Cernovs and Vjaceslavs, Mr Naumovs’ son who also worked for the company. However, neither of the men had a thorough understanding of the English language and formed an impression that they were required to remove the roof the next morning in his absence. They also appeared to think that they could enlist the help of other workers in completing the task. As a result they asked they asked Nikolajs and Juris Naumovs to assist in the dismantling of the roof the following day.
The investigation found that the events leading up to the incident showed there had been poor communication, a lack of instruction and supervision. The equipment used was also deemed as being unsuitable for the task, with the work conducted in a manifestly unsafe manner.
Bruce of the Broch 1886 Ltd was fined £80,000 for the incident, a figure reduced to £60,000 after it pleaded guilty to breaching the Health and Safety at Work etc Act 1974.