A 19-year-old scaffolder tragically died after falling through a false ventilation shaft cover on a London rooftop in July 2023. Renols Lleshi, from Ilford, was dismantling scaffolding on the 12th floor of a residential block at the Ark Soane Academy site on Mill Hill Road when the fatal accident occurred.
The ventilation shaft cover was flimsy, made of plasterboard and roofing foam, and it gave way beneath him. Lleshi plummeted six storeys and died instantly at the scene.
Jerram Falkus Construction Ltd admitted breaching the Work at Height Regulations 2005 at City of London Magistrates’ Court. The firm was fined £42,000, ordered to pay £5,000 in court costs, and a £2,000 surcharge following the incident.
The Health and Safety Executive (HSE) revealed that routine inspections failed to identify the dangerous ventilation shaft on the roof garden. No warnings were given to the scaffolding crew about the hazard. Lleshi was employed by subcontractor Embassy Site Services Ltd, which was hired by Jerram Falkus Construction.
HSE Inspector Natalie Prince said: “Falls from height remain one of the leading causes of death and serious injury in construction. This tragic death was wholly avoidable.”
Renols Lleshi’s father expressed his heartbreak, stating: “My family and I are devastated by the loss of Renols. To know his death was caused by an accident that was entirely avoidable only makes our grief harder to bear. Nothing can bring him back or ease our pain.”
Jerram Falkus Construction went into administration in February. Once a long-standing family firm with a £47.6 million turnover, it mainly handled projects for local councils and housing associations in London and the South East. The company’s pre-tax profits dropped to just £37,000 in the year ending July 2024.
Originally published by UKNIP.
