A director for a roofing company has received a suspended prison sentence and two companies have been fined after a young roofer died in a fall at a Walsall site.
Adam Brunskill, 22, was working on the roof of Bestway Wholesale, in Bloxwich Lane, near Reedswood, when he fell through an unprotected glass-wire skylight on 14 July 2020. He fell approximately 23 feet onto a concrete floor, sustained a severe brain injury and died in hospital the following day.
It was just Brunskill’s second day working as a roofer on the project, which involved installing over-cladding to the large industrial unit.
Wayne Clarey, director of Wayne Clarey Roofing & Cladding Limited, was given a six-month custodial sentence, suspended for 18 months. His company was fined £45,000 and ordered to pay costs of £5,000. Principal contractor Proclad Developments Limited was fined £400,000 and ordered to pay costs of £9,089.
An investigation by the Health and Safety Executive (HSE) found the incident was preventable. Inspectors said the skylights could have been covered or safety netting installed to protect workers.
HSE inspector Gareth Langston said: “The collective failures of those responsible for site safety in this case has cost a young man his life. Adam Brunskill was at the very beginning of his career but was not kept safe.
“When working on fragile roofing, or where skylights are in place on a metal roof, safety netting is essential. Had these measures been put in place Adam would still be alive.”
There is no suggestion of fault or error by Bestway.
