Antonio Rodrigues had been working for Lima Construction Ltd on a site in New Malden when he suffered a fall on 27th July 2022.

The 55-year-old labourer fell from an external scaffolding platform through an unglazed window void before landing on a concrete floor over three metres below.

He died from his injuries several days later.

A Health and Safety Executive (HSE) investigation found that glazing panels had not been installed in the void due to damage.

Protective boarding was only secured after the fatal fall, when this could have prevented it.

The company had also not ensured legally required weekly scaffolding inspections had been carried out beforehand, so the opportunity for the risks to be caught by a competent scaffolding inspector was lost.

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Lima Construction Ltd pleaded guilty to breaching The Construction (Design and Management) Regulations 2015. The company was fined £50,000 and ordered to pay costs of £11,347 at Westminster Magistrates Court on 18th  June 2026.

“Employers and those in control of any work at height activity should ensure a sensible, pragmatic approach when considering precautions for work at height,” said Andrew Verrall-Withers, HSE inspector.

“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.”

The prosecution was brought by HSE lawyers Iain Jordan and Tom Ledden-Rocks, and paralegal Anushka Lulith.