A Hertfordshire company has been ordered to pay more than £30,000 after an employee fell from a ladder while installing solar panels.

Everyone’s Energy UK Limited was fined £28,000 and ordered to pay £6,634.56 in costs, following a hearing at Bristol Magistrates Court last Tuesday (March 12).

The worker had been employed by the Hertford firm on July 4, 2022, when he was installing solar panels on the roof of a house on Pentland Avenue in Thornbury, South Gloucestershire.

St Albans & Harpenden Review: The employee fell three meters, fracturing his skull and leaving him with severe brain damage.The employee fell three meters, fracturing his skull and leaving him with severe brain damage. (Image: HSE)

The 41-year-old had been carrying materials up a ladder when he fell three meters, fracturing his skull as he landed.

This has led to a severe brain injury, with the worker now unable to walk or talk.

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An investigation by the Health and Safety Executive (HSE) found Everyone’s Energy UK Limited had failed to properly plan, manage, and monitor the work at height.

St Albans & Harpenden Review: It is believed the 41-year-old had been carrying materials up a ladder when he fell.It is believed the 41-year-old had been carrying materials up a ladder when he fell. (Image: HSE)

The company had not provided adequate scaffolding around the roof and there was no appropriate means to raise the materials onto the roof.

HSE inspector Ian Whittles said: “This serious incident could have been avoided if the employer had acted to identify and control the risks involved and provided a safe means of getting the materials onto the roof.”

St Albans & Harpenden Review: The HSE found that Everyone’s Energy UK Limited had failed to properly plan, manage, and monitor the work at height.The HSE found that Everyone’s Energy UK Limited had failed to properly plan, manage, and monitor the work at height. (Image: HSE)