Handyman sustained 'extensive injuries' after falling 16 ft from Edinburgh roof
Scott Harvey fractured his ribs and was left with a partially collapsed lung after the incident three years ago
A company has been fined £300,000 after a worker was left with severe injuries after falling from a 16ft roof while on a job in Edinburgh in 2023.
Scott Harvey was attempting to replace a missing roof tile from a property in Redford Gardens when the ladder detached from the apex of the roof and he fell five metres.
The fall left the 51-year-old handyman with severe injuries, including fractured ribs, a partially collapsed lung and torn lung tissue.
After the incident he was taken to the intensive care unit at the Royal Infirmary, where he also spent time in the high dependency unit and the major trauma ward.
Since then, he has received physio treatment, speech and language therapy due to a compromised ability to swallow, as well as mental health treatment.
Bell Group Ltd pleaded guilty to breaching the Work at Height Regulations of the Health and Safety Act at Edinburgh Sheriff Court.
The court heard how there was no roofer on site on the day, and so Mr Harvey, who had no specific jobs to do but was aware a tile needed replaced, took on the job.
He had not undertaken any work at height training since joining the company.
Mr Harvey and a colleague accessed an extension ladder and a roof ladder and wedged the extension ladder under the gutter. The 51-year-old climbed the ladder, and the other employee passed him the roof ladder.
He pushed it onto the roof to hook it over the apex and as he did so, he and the ladder fell to the ground.
Upon sentencing, Sheriff Watson said: “There is no sentence I can pass that will reflect the harm caused to Mr Harvey. I offer him my sympathy.
“The purpose of this case is not to put a value on his injuries. That is not what the court is doing.
“Instead the court is holding the company to account for its failings and hopefully ensuring that lessons have been learnt which may avoid anything of this nature happening again.”
Later in the statement, they said: “The outcome was severe injury to Mr Harvey, with significant consequences for him.
“I have not been given detail of his current functioning but I do note that this has had a significant impact on him and it is not hard to understand why.”