Christchurch business fined after worker’s fatal fall from a roof

A court has ordered a Christchurch business to pay nearly $300,000 after a worker fatally fell from the roof of a building in Sydenham. Pegasus Engineering Limited, the roofing company involved, has been convicted following a WorkSafe investigation into the incident.

The 56-year-old man fell 4.5 metres to the ground while painting a flat roof in February 2021. This fall claimed his life and exposed serious gaps in work-at-height safety practices across the construction sector.

What Happened During the Fatal Fall

A WorkSafe investigation revealed that the company had no experience working at height, and fall protection systems were not in place. The business, along with its site supervisor, was fined for failing to manage foreseeable risk on site.

Total penalties reached hundreds of thousands of dollars, reflecting the seriousness with which the court treated this preventable death. Such fines send a clear signal to businesses in construction and roofing that safety obligations cannot be treated as optional.

WorkSafe's Response to the Incident

WorkSafe's Head of Specialist Interventions, Dr Catherine Gardner, said, "This incident is proof that a flat roof does not mean a safe roof – especially when it's 4.5 metres high." "This was an unprotected and unsafe working environment."

Her comments highlight a common misconception in the roofing industry: flat surfaces are often assumed to carry lower risk than pitched ones. WorkSafe's findings show this assumption can prove fatal when proper fall protection measures are absent.

Why Fall Protection Matters on Every Site

Falls from height remain one of the leading causes of workplace fatalities in construction, and this case underscores why every employer must assess risk before work begins. Effective safety planning includes:

• Installing edge protection, guardrails, or safety nets on elevated work areas
• Ensuring workers have appropriate training before undertaking height-related tasks
• Conducting thorough risk assessments prior to starting any roofing or maintenance job
• Providing supervision to confirm safety systems remain functional throughout a project

Businesses operating in construction, manufacturing, and related trades should treat health and safety compliance as a core operational priority, not an afterthought. Similar cases, such as the Monbulk nursery sentencing after a worker's fatal fall from roof, and the Port Adelaide company fined after a fatal roof fall, reinforce a troubling pattern across the industry where inadequate fall protection continues to cost lives.

Lessons for Businesses and Site Supervisors

This case demonstrates that health and safety accountability extends beyond frontline workers to supervisors and business owners alike. Every person responsible for directing work at height carries a duty to identify risk and implement controls before tasks begin.

Organisations can strengthen their approach by reviewing existing policies, such as a Business Improvement Policy, to ensure safety obligations are embedded into everyday operations rather than addressed only after an incident occurs.

For businesses managing multiple workers across sites, maintaining accurate records through tools like a First Aid Worker Register also supports a faster, more coordinated response if an emergency does happen.

Building a Safer Work-at-Height Culture

Preventing another tragedy like this one requires a genuine shift in how construction and roofing businesses approach elevated work. WorkSafe continues to urge employers to treat every roof, flat or pitched, as a potential fall risk until proven otherwise through proper assessment.

Businesses in manufacturing and construction sectors seeking additional guidance can find further support through SafetyDocs resources designed to help organisations meet their compliance obligations.

For more on this story, visit the WorkSafe NZ website.