What happened
An Oxfordshire-based construction company has been fined £120,000 after a carpenter died falling through an unsafe first floor during refurbishment work, according to the HSE Media Centre.
W G Carter Limited, of Appleton, was sentenced following the death of 59-year-old Richard "Felix" Roper, a father of two. On 30 August 2022, Mr Roper was working on the first floor of Manor Barn House, Nether Westcote, Gloucestershire, where extensive repairs were underway to replace rotten floor joists and floorboards.
He had been tasked with replacing damaged joists while other workers removed sections of flooring in the same area. Large parts of the first-floor structure had been stripped back, leaving open gaps between joists — and some joists were missing altogether or not secured. Mr Roper fell from the first floor onto the concrete ground floor below, sustained severe head injuries, and died in hospital the following day.
A joint investigation by HSE and Gloucestershire Police found the work at height had not been properly planned, appropriately supervised, or carried out safely. Workers could access areas where flooring and structural supports had been removed, with insufficient measures to prevent falls, while other workers continued removing floorboards nearby — increasing the risk. HSE served a Prohibition Notice stopping further work at height until adequate measures were in place.
At Bristol Magistrates Court on 24 September 2026, W G Carter Limited pleaded guilty to breaching Regulation 4(1) of the Work at Height Regulations 2005. The company was fined £120,000 and ordered to pay costs of £5,247. HSE principal inspector James Lucas said: "Had appropriate controls been in place, Felix's death could have been prevented."
Why it matters to contractors
This is a refurbishment job, not a steel frame or a roof. That's exactly why it should land hard. Falls from height remain the leading cause of workplace death — HSE figures show they account for over a quarter of all work-related deaths in 2025/26. And the highest-risk moments are often the mundane ones: stripping back a floor, chasing a rotten joist, working above an open void that didn't exist an hour ago.
The real danger here was a changing workspace. One crew removes boards while another replaces joists in the same area. The floor you stood on safely this morning is a fall hazard by lunchtime. No single person had a clear picture of where the open gaps were, and there was nothing physical stopping anyone walking into them. That's a planning and sequencing failure as much as an equipment one.
Tellingly, after the incident the company adopted a safer method — installing joists from below using appropriate work-at-height equipment and preventing access to the first floor during the work. The safe method existed. It just wasn't planned in before the job started.
What to check on your site
- Plan work at height before anyone picks up a crowbar. If you're stripping a floor, the method statement should say how the void is controlled at every stage.
- Never strip and rebuild in the same area at the same time without controls. Sequence the work so open voids are protected before anyone works above or beside them.
- Physically prevent access to open floors — barriers, covers over gaps, exclusion of the ground floor below, or working from below with proper access equipment.
- Check joists are secured before loading them. Missing or loose joists aren't a working surface.
- Appoint someone to supervise the work at height and keep the picture updated as the floor changes through the day.
- Brief the crew on the specific hazard — an open first-floor void onto concrete — not just a generic working-at-height talk.
Documents that help you plan it properly
Good paperwork won't carry a joist for you, but it forces you to think the sequence through before the crew arrives. A written method statement is where you decide whether you're working from above or below, and how the void stays controlled. Start with our RAMS & Permits templates and the what is a RAMS guide if you want the sequencing captured properly.
For the on-site brief, a focused toolbox talk on open floors and fall prevention makes sure the crew knows exactly which voids are live. And if working at height is your bread and butter, the Roofer Risk Assessment Pack covers working at height, fragile surfaces and access equipment in one place.
Bottom line
A refurb floor-strip killed a man and cost a firm £120,000. The safe method wasn't exotic — it was a sequencing and access decision that needed making before the job started. Plan it, brief it, control the voids. Browse the RAMS templates and get your work-at-height method on paper before your next floor job.