A £60,000 fine on a company that failed to protect an employee working at height has been converted into compensation for the worker by a judge.

The highly unusual decision was reached at Southwark Crown Court. The judge described this as “an exceptional case” as the company was in dispute with its insurance company and the injured worker was unlikely to receive compensation for his injuries from the firm.

The company being prosecuted was Race Interiors Ltd. It pleaded guilty to breaching Section 2(1) of the Health & Safety at Work etc Act 1974.

The court heard that 55-year-old Armenian national Petros Pogosyan fell through a skylight from a unit roof on a London industrial estate while working for Race Interiors on 18 January 2013. He fell 4.5m on to a concrete floor and suffered life changing injuries including a fractured back. He is now paralysed from the waist down, partially deaf, has damage to his brain and is psychologically traumatised.

During the Health & Safety Executive (HSE) prosecution case, the court was told that Mr Pogosyan will need personal care for the rest of his life and will never work again. His wife has given up work to care for him full time and since the incident the couple have been living on state benefits.

Judge May QC described the accident as "highly foreseeable". She pointed out there was no protection to prevent a fall from or through the roof. She ruled that the company had been far short of the required standards for managing risks at work as the supervisor was not trained and there was a complete lack of planning with no risk assessment or method statement for the work.

HSE inspector Simon Hester said: “This tragedy should not have happened. Nobody should work on a roof without proper planning. It's the employer’s responsibility to ensure that all reasonable precautions are taken to prevent a fall. Mr Pogosyan could have been killed by his fall and now suffers massive and irreversible life-changing injuries.”

As well as the £60,000 fine that is going to Mr Pogosyan, Race Interiors was ordered to pay costs of £7,784.

You can find out how you should work safely on fragile roofs by downloading this PDF here.