Roofer handed suspended sentence after worker fell from ladder

Iain Smith, aged 36, was working for Daniel Hooper at a domestic property in Honiton, Devon on 13 June 2023. Smith had been manually carrying old slate roof tiles down a ladder that was attached to a scaffold platform when he fell from a height of more than 25 feet.

Photograph: Health and Safety Executive (HSE)

He broke five vertebrae, sustained skull and rib fractures, and was put into an induced coma for five days at Derriford Hospital.

Smith has since made a “remarkable recovery”, said the Health and Safety Executive (HSE), but still suffers from the effects of his injuries.

An investigation by HSE found that 28-year-old Hooper, trading as Hooper Roofing, had failed to ensure the health, safety and welfare of his employee because he did not plan or supervise the work at height, or supply suitable equipment to do the job safely.

While ladders can be used to access a scaffold platform, HSE said its guidance is clear that they should only be used for “low risk and short duration tasks”. Instead of carrying the tiles down the ladder manually, the worker should have used a pulley system or a mechanical conveyor.

Daniel Hooper pleaded guilty to breaching Regulation 4(1) of the Work at Height Regulations 2005. He was sentenced at Exeter Magistrates Court on 6 February to 16 weeks of imprisonment, suspended for 12 months, and ordered to complete 150 hours of community service. He was also ordered to pay costs of £10,875.