Ep6 - Roof Fall/PTO Tractor
The Christchurch community is shocked by a fatal accident involving an experienced roofer. A well known local contractor has fallen to his death while completing what should have been a straightforward job putting a roof on a new house.
No-one saw the fall, but the roofer's employee heard a crash, and found his boss lying with terrible head injuries. He called an ambulance and tried to revive him. But the roofer's injuries were too serious, and he was pronounced dead at the scene.
The first thing that strikes Health and Safety inspector Bruce McLaren when he arrives at the site is that there is no safety scaffolding at the point where the roofer fell, although plenty of protection round other areas of the roof.
Solving this mystery is at the heart of Bruce's investigation of how this family man came to lose his life at work.
Bruce is well aware that falls from heights are the single largest cause of death and injuries in construction. Although this is a small scale construction site, building a new home for a local man, the Department's case files show that residential building sites are in fact the most dangerous of all.
Unravelling the facts behind the roofer's fall is only part of the investigation. Bruce also needs to establish who was in charge of the site, and responsible for the safety of everyone working there.
Although the Health & Safety in Employment Act doesn't apply to any work carried out on your own home, this site is a new development separate to the homeowner's place of residence, and many people may be surprised to learn that puts him squarely in the frame, with significant responsibilities under the Act.
As Bruce digs deeper, he discovers a history of past involvement between the Department of Labour and the deceased that may throw some light on his working methods.
Bruce's colleague Terry Williams heads to the West coast to unravel the mystery of how another experienced worker, a farmer, has been found naked and badly injured in the middle of a muddy field, his tractor still running beside him. The shreds of cloth wrapped around the tractor's power take off shaft may offer a clue.
