Firm fined £300,000 after worker suffered life-changing injuries in 16ft plunge

A company has been fined £300,000 after an employee plunged 16ft from a roof, suffering extensive injuries.

The Bell Group Ltd pleaded guilty to breaching the Work at Height Regulations of the Health and Safety Act at Edinburgh Sheriff Court.

On May 16, 2023, Bell Group employee Scott Harvey was working on a roof in Redford Gardens in Edinburgh.

He had accessed the roof using an extension ladder and roof ladder to replace a missing tile.

However, the roof ladder detached from the roof, and Mr Harvey fell 16ft, resulting in severe injury.

Mr Harvey had joined the company in January 2023, and throughout his time there, he had received no working-at-height training.

On the day of the incident, the company was working on vacant military buildings.

The company had no roofer on site, so Mr Harvey inspected the roof from the ground and decided scaffolding was required, which he recorded on the job sheet.

With no specific jobs to do, Mr Harvey and another employee sought out an extension ladder, which Mr Harvey climbed.

While trying to put the secondary roof ladder in place, he fell along with the extension ladder.

In sentencing statements, Sheriff Graeme Watson listed Mr Harvey’s injuries.

He said: “Mr Harvey sustained extensive right-sided thoracic injuries with fractures to the first to ninth ribs, pulmonary lacerations and a small pneumothorax.

“He suffered a fractured bone in his spine and fractures of the clavicle and scapula. He received treatment in the intensive care unit, the high dependency unit and the major trauma ward of Edinburgh Royal Infirmary.

“He has received outpatient treatment from physiotherapy, speech and language therapy for compromised ability to swallow, and psychiatric assistance. His lifestyle was significantly impacted by his injuries.”

The Bell Group had recently appointed new supervisors who worked remotely and had not been aware of the requirement to obtain a work at height permit.

In failing to do this, senior employees at the company were disciplined.

Sheriff Watson said: “The company accepts that they failed to ensure that there was a safe system of work properly implemented in accordance with regulation 4 of the Work at Height Regulations.”

Since the incident, the company has been awarded a Royal Society for the Prevention of Accidents gold award in 2024 and 2025.

The Bell Group was fined £300,000, which had been reduced due to the firm’s guilty plea.

“There is no sentence I can pass that will reflect the harm caused to Mr Harvey. I offer him my sympathy,” Sheriff Watson added.