Two companies have been fined a combined \u00a322,000 plus costs after an electrical apprentice fell from height while installing CCTV, the Health and Safety Executive (HSE) has said.<\/p>\n
The male apprentice was working for Tristan G Murless Ltd at a site on a commercial industrial estate in Weymouth, Dorset, on 13 July 2022.<\/p>\n
He had been using a \u201cmakeshift crawling board\u201d when he fell around 11 feet through a fragile roof to the concrete floor below, the HSE said.<\/p>\n
The incident took place on the roof of a lean-to attached to a main warehouse, the health and safety regulator added.<\/p>\n
The then 20-year-old lost consciousness \u201cat some point\u201d before an ambulance arrived and could not feel his body, the HSE said in a statement.<\/p>\n
It added: \u201cHe was unable to walk temporarily after the incident and sustained injuries to his back, including muscular tissue damage which requires physiotherapy.\u201d<\/p>\n
The HSE said an investigation found that Tristan G Murless Ltd failed to ensure the health, safety and welfare of its employees \u201cby failing to properly plan and provide suitable equipment to prevent the fall through the fragile roof\u201d.<\/p>\n
It added that a second company \u2013 Ellis & Partners (Bournemouth) Ltd \u2013 has also been fined after it \u201cfailed to comply with a HSE demand to produce documents to assist its criminal investigation into the incident\u201d under section 20 of the Health and Safety at Work Act 1974.<\/p>\n
Tristan G Murless Ltd, of Avon Close, Weymouth, Dorset, pleaded guilty to breaching Regulation 2(1) of the Health and Safety at Work Act, the HSE said.<\/p>\n
The company was fined \u00a316,000 and ordered to pay \u00a34,168 in costs at Bristol Magistrates Court on 28 November 2025, the regulator added.<\/p>\n
The HSE also said that Ellis & Partners (Bournemouth) Ltd of Dean Park Crescent, Bournemouth, Dorset, pleaded guilty to breaching Regulation 20(2)(k) of the Health and Safety at Work Act.<\/p>\n
The company was fined \u00a36,000 and ordered to pay \u00a31,200 in costs, the HSE said.<\/p>\n
Speaking after the hearing, HSE inspector Rebecca Gittoes said: \u201cEvery year, a significant proportion of incidents, many of them serious and fatal, occur as a result of poor work at height planning.<\/p>\n
\u201cIn this case, a young man at the start of his career was failed by his employer.<\/p>\n
\u201cHad the company suitably risk assessed the task, provided suitable work equipment and a safe system of work, this incident would not have happened.\u201d<\/p>\n
Gittoes added: \u201cThe case brought against Ellis & Partners (Bournemouth) Ltd should also underline to everyone that the HSE and the courts take a failure to comply with section 20 very seriously.<\/p>\n
\u201cWe will not hesitate to take action against companies which do not cooperate by failing to provide requested documents.\u201d<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"
Two companies have been fined a combined \u00a322,000 plus costs after an electrical apprentice fell from height while installing CCTV, the Health and Safety Executive (HSE) has said. The male apprentice was working for Tristan G Murless Ltd at a site on a commercial industrial estate in Weymouth, Dorset, on 13 July 2022. He had …<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":135716,"featured_media":534069,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"ep_exclude_from_search":false,"footnotes":""},"categories":[581,578],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-534065","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-health-and-safety","category-legal"],"yoast_head":"\n