Kent construction firm fined after worker fell 6ft to his death through opening in scaffold

Credit: Health and Safety Executive

A construction company in Kent has been fined after a worker fell to his death.

Sub-contractor Mark Tolley, 51, fell around 6ft through an opening in a scaffold while helping build six houses on Smarden Road in Headcorn on 5 July 2017.

Mr Tolley had been installing vertical hanging tiles on one of the new properties when he fell and landed on the ground below.

He broke his ribs and punctured his lung, and died in the William Harvey Hospital in Ashford a week later, on 13 July 2017.

David Tolley had been installing vertical hanging tiles on one of the new properties when he fell and landed on the ground below. Credit: Health and Safety Executive

An investigation by the Health and Safety Executive (HSE) found Amberley Homes (Kent) Ltd, the principal contractor for the project, had not appointed a person with the necessary skills, knowledge, experience and training to manage the construction site.

The company had also not ensured that a safe working platform on the scaffold was maintained throughout the different phases of the project.

Access to and from the first lift working platform was unsafe as multiple openings had been made which could subsist for several weeks, and the openings were unguarded and therefore it was deemed a significant risk of falling circa 1.8 metres from the working platform.

Amberley Homes (Kent) Ltd, had not ensured that a safe working platform on the scaffold was maintained throughout the project. Credit: Health and Safety Executive

Amberley Homes (Kent) Ltd did not control the site effectively. Its monitoring was ineffective as it did not act on concerns raised by its safety consultant when he drew the problems with site management.

The company was fined £25,000 and ordered to pay £83,842.34 in costs at Canterbury Crown Court on 15 March 2024.

HSE principal inspector Ross Carter said: “This tragic death could have been so easily avoided by implementing suitable site management to ensure that the scaffold was appropriately adapted by competent persons for the needs of the different sub-contractors.

“This case highlights that principal contractors should be aware that HSE will not hesitate to take appropriate enforcement action against those who fall below the required standards and do not plan, manage and monitor the construction phase effectively.”

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