A Worcestershire firm was fined £24,000 on 15 June and ordered to pay costs of £1,106.15 after pleading guilty to two offences of safety failings after four workers were injured, one of them seriously, when a roof truss in a new extension collapsed during construction and set off a domino effect with several other trusses falling.

Four men working on the extension were caught in the collapse at premises in Brandon Court, Binley, Coventry, on 26 June 2014.

One man was trapped by his legs, two suffered minor injuries and the fourth, a 37-year-old who does not wish to be named, suffered severe grazing and a fracture to his lower spine which led to many painful months off work.

Nuneaton Magistrates’ Court heard that the principal contractor for the project was DP Designs Ltd. The court heard that due to an omission during the planning and procurement process of the project, a critical structural truss had been overlooked. This led to the workers attempting to install the trusses in an unstable manner, but as soon as they realised it was an issue they stopped working in that area.

However, the following day, one of the trusses broke, causing a domino effect as several other trusses collapsed above the area where the men were working.

An investigation by the Health & Safety Executive (HSE) found that had the work been properly planned, organised and monitored, the collapse could have been avoided. Also, if appropriate fall prevention measures had been implemented correctly, the outcome would have been less severe.

DP Designs Ltd, of Bromsgrove, Worcestershire, pleaded guilty to offences of a breach of Regulation 25(1) of the Construction (Design & Management) Regulations 2007 and a breach of Regulation 6(3) of the Work at Height Regulations 2005.

After the case, HSE Inspector Chris Gregory, said: “As the principal contractor, DP Designs Ltd should have ensured the roof truss installation was properly planned, appropriately supervised and, above all, safe.

“The company had a duty to inform those who may be affected of any changes to the plan that may impact on their work. In this case the company failed to inform workers of changes that led to the structure becoming unstable.

“Where work at height is involved, companies should also provide suitable measures to prevent falls and, secondly, provide equipment to mitigate the outcome of any falls. However, as a result of DP Design Ltd’s failings, four men were injured.”

Falls from height are responsible for around a third of workplace deaths every year. For more information about working at height safely go to www.hse.gov.uk/work-at-height/index.htm

For more information about safety in the construction industry go to www.hse.gov.uk/construction/index.htm