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Aberdeenshire Firm in Court Following Roof Fall Death

An Aberdeenshire business has appeared in Peterhead Sheriff Court, where it was fined for serious safety failings after a man died when he fell more than five metres through a fragile roof.

Latvian national Nikolajs Naumovs had arrived in Scotland only two weeks before his fatal fall. He had been working with his nephew to remove asbestos cement sheets from the roof of a building in Fraserburgh that was owned by a local butchery company.

They had reached the roof using a telehandler and, while the basket was on the ground being unloaded, the two were sitting near the apex of the roof. Suddenly and without warning, the roof collapsed beneath them.

His nephew managed to grab something and was left hanging from a wall but Mr Naumovs fell five and a half metres to the concrete floor below and died at the scene from head injuries.

An investigation by the Health and Safety Executive found evidence of poor communication, a lack of instruction and supervision, the use of equipment that was not suitable for the task, and the work being carried out in a manifestly unsafe manner.

The company was fined £80,000, reduced to £60,000 after pleading guilty to breaching Section 3 of the Health and Safety at Work etc Act 1974.

The risks associated with work at height, and fragile roofs in particular, are very well known, and falls from height continue to be the most common cause of fatality to workers. In the year 2013/2014 they accounted for 29% of deaths reported to HSE, meaning that 19 workers lost their lives after a fall that year.

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