Solar panel firm fined after worker sustains life-changing injuries
A solar panel installation company has been fined £28,000 after a worker sustained life-changing injuries after falling off a ladder, whilst carrying materials.
The 41-year-old, employed by Everyone Energy, had been installing solar panels on the roof of a house on Pentland Avenue in Thornbury, South Gloucestershire when he fell three metres on 4 July 2022.
It is believed the worker was carrying materials up a ladder when he fell, landing at the foot of the ladder and suffered a fractured skull, leading to a severe brain injury.
He is now unable to walk or talk.
The Health and Safety Executive (HSE) held an investigation and found Everyone’s Energy UK had failed to properly plan, manage, and monitor the work that was being carried out.
Adequate scaffolding around the roof was not provided and there was no appropriate means to raise the materials onto the roof.
HSE inspector Ian Whittles said: “This serious incident could have been avoided if the employer had acted to identify and control the risks involved and provided a safe means of getting the materials onto the roof.”
Everyone’s Energy UK, based in Hertfordshire, pleaded guilty to breaching Regulation 4(1) of the Work at Height Regulations 2005.
The company was fined £28,000 and ordered to pay £6,634.56 in costs at Bristol Magistrates’ Court on 12 March 2024.
