Falls From Height: How Lima Construction's £50,000 Fine Happened — and What It Tells UK Businesses

A construction company was fined £50,000 after a worker fell through an unglazed window opening on a London site. The HSE investigation found that Lima Construction Ltd had failed to install protective boards before work began. The boards were only fitted after the accident occurred.

The company's scaffolding inspection records were also absent. Weekly inspections required under the Work at Height Regulations 2005 had not been carried out or documented.

What the Investigation Found

The HSE's enforcement action identified two distinct failures:

Failure to implement a known control. The hazard — an unguarded opening at height — was not unknown. The required control — boarding or guarding the opening — was not complicated. But it had not been done before workers began operating near the window.

Absence of verification records. Weekly scaffold inspections are a legal requirement under the Work at Height Regulations 2005. There were no records to demonstrate they had taken place. Whether the inspections happened or not, the absence of documentation means there is no defence.

Why "Had Failed to Ensure" Is the Most Common Phrase in HSE Enforcement Notices

The language used in HSE enforcement action is worth paying attention to. The duty placed on employers under the Work at Height Regulations is not simply to have a policy or produce a risk assessment — it is to "ensure" that the required measures are in place.

That word carries practical significance. It means that a control which exists on paper but has not been physically implemented does not satisfy the duty. Writing "guard all openings" in your risk assessment, and then not checking that it has been done, is not compliance. It is a document that will be used against you if something goes wrong.

What This Means for Construction Companies and Contractors

Falls from height accounted for 31 workplace fatalities in the UK in 2025/26 — the single largest cause of worker deaths, year after year. In construction alone, 12 of the 25 worker deaths involved falls.

For any business doing work at height, the Lima Construction case is a reminder that the standard required is not the existence of paperwork, but the implementation of controls. Specifically:

• Scaffold inspections must be completed weekly and documented before anyone uses the structure
• Any opening that creates a fall risk must be guarded or boarded before work begins in the area
• Pre-start checks should confirm that protective measures are in place, not assume they are

RiskCompli allows construction businesses and contractors to build and maintain the documentation that supports these checks — risk assessments, method statements, and toolbox talk records — so that the paper trail reflects what is actually happening on site. Try it free, no card needed: riskcompli.safecompli.co.uk

For more on health and safety for construction businesses and contractors, visit www.safecompli.co.uk

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