A contractor has been fined £60,000 after a worker fell through an unprotected roof light on to a concrete floor whilst on a housing refurbishment scheme in Fulham, west London.
The worker sustained life-changing injuries in the incident on 10 November 2023. He was working for Lowndes Lumb Construction, passing materials through an open, unprotected roof light during a property renovation before falling through the opening.
An investigation by the Health and Safety Executive (HSE) found that the company had failed to take suitable measures to protect workers from the risk of falling from height. Typical methods to prevent falls, such as scaffolding, guard rails, an internal crash deck or harness systems, had not been used.
HSE guidance states that work at height must be properly planned, appropriately supervised and carried out safely by competent people. Working at height includes any place where, if precautions were not in place, a person could fall a distance liable to cause personal injury.
“Wholly avoidable accident”
Lowndes Lumb pleaded guilty to breaching Regulation 6(3) of the Work at Height Regulations 2005. The company was fined £60,000 and ordered to pay £6,070 in costs at Westminster Magistrates’ Court on Monday (3 August).
HSE Inspector Lydia Edwards said: “Falls from height remain one of the leading causes of workplace death and serious injury. The latest HSE statistics show they accounted for around a quarter of all worker deaths in Great Britain during 2025/26.
“This was a wholly avoidable incident that resulted in a worker suffering life-changing injuries. Had suitable measures been in place to prevent a fall, this incident could have been prevented.”
