Labourer suffers haemorrhage following fall through barn roof
17th April 2025
A self-employed builder has been ordered to complete 200 hours of unpaid work after a man fell more than 13 feet through a barn roof on a farm in Lancashire. The worker has suffered a brain haemorrhage and multiple fractures.
James Dargan-Cole, 25, of Todmorden, had failed to put arrangements in place to either avoid working at height completely or prevent a fall while doing so, the Health and Safety Executive said.
The 29-year-old labourer, Jacob Thomas, suffered serious injuries at Great House Farm on 13th April 2023.
The incident happened during his first day on the job when he had been removing wooden boarding behind the roof of a lower barn structure.
Mr Thomas took a step and fell through one of the skylights to the floor below. His horrific injuries included a brain haemorrhage as well as multiple fractures, including to his skull, the sternum, the spine and the shoulder.
An investigation by HSE found that as well as failing to consider the work at height, the roof in question also contained asbestos fibres. Dargan-Cole lacked the understanding of the risks and the associated controls to manage the risks whilst dismantling the lower barn structure.
‘Poor planning and management’
HSE’s campaign “Asbestos and You” reminds tradespeople about the dangers of asbestos and the importance of working safely with it.
Asbestos can be found in buildings built before 2000 and is still the biggest workplace killer in Britain, causing around 5,000 deaths every year.
When disturbed, asbestos releases tiny fibres that can cause fatal lung diseases and cancers. More information can be found here.
James Dargan-Cole pleaded guilty to breaching Section 2(3) of the Health and Safety at Work etc. Act 1974. He was handed a 12-month community order with 200 hours of unpaid work in the community and ordered to pay £2,500 in costs at Leeds Magistrates’ Court.
Principal inspector Paul Thompson from HSE said: “Mr Thomas suffered horrific injuries due to the failure to ensure protective fall prevention or collective fall mitigation measures were in place. These are well known and long-standing within the industry.
“This incident came about as a result of poor planning, management and monitoring of activities during work at height. I hope this case serves as an example and a reminder to others about the potential deadly risks they often undertake and how they should be approached.”
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