Antonio Rodrigues, 55, died after falling three metres from a scaffolding platform onto concrete at a former department store construction site in New Malden, South West London, on July 27, 2022. He succumbed to his injuries five days later on August 1.
Details of the incident
Mr Rodrigues was employed by Lima Construction Limited, which was converting the former department store on New Malden High Street into commercial and residential units. The Health and Safety Executive (HSE) investigation revealed that he fell through an unglazed window void created for the installation of glazed 'Juliet' doors. When the doors arrived, some had damaged glazing panels and were not installed, leaving four unglazed voids.
Although the company recognized the risk of falling through these voids from the scaffolding platform, protective boarding was only installed hours after Mr Rodrigues fell. Investigators stated that boarding or additional scaffolding rails should have been put in place as soon as the voids were created.
Safety failures identified
Legally required weekly scaffolding inspections had not been carried out in the three weeks before the accident, missing the opportunity to identify the risk. Lima Construction Limited, of Apsley Road, New Malden, pleaded guilty to contravening Regulation 13(1) of The Construction (Design and Management) Regulations 2015 at Westminster Magistrates Court on June 18, 2026. The company was fined £50,000 and ordered to pay costs of £11,347.
Impact and comments
HSE inspector Andrew Verrall-Withers said: “This is a case where a company who generally tried to have good standards of health and safety, failed to react effectively to an unusual situation and there were tragic consequences. Falls from height are one of the leading causes of workplace fatalities and major injuries in the UK. Employers and those in control of any work at height activity should ensure a sensible, pragmatic approach when considering precautions for work at height.” He added: “As there was no CCTV and nobody witnessed the incident, we will never know exactly what caused Mr Rodrigues to fall. But if the boards added shortly afterwards had been in place, then there would have been no opening for him to fall through in the first place.”
