Roofer died from injuries he suffered in 39ft fall from warehouse

A JURY has found that a roofer who plunged to his death while changing skylights in Yorkshire died from multiple injuries consistent with a fall from height.

Jonathan May, from Horbury, Wakefield, died while he was working for family-run Davis Industrial Roofing on Sunday December 18, 2016 on the Carlton Industrial Estate in Barnsley. He was 39.

The father of two was working with colleagues Luke Davis and Benjamin Davis to replace 305 skylights at a warehouse owned by F&G Commercials when he fell from 39ft at 9am.

On the first day of the inquest at Sheffield Coroner’s Court, Luke Davis testified that they did not use any harnesses or ropes as a safety measure as there was no way to connect them to the building.

Instead they used a scissor lift to get to the roof and crawling boards to walk up and down the roof, which was made of cement fibre sheeting, which was fragile.

He said when Mr May was removing skylight bolts he heard a cracking noise and saw that he had fallen through the roof. He was later found inside the warehouse and was not moving.

The inquest also heard from Benjamin Davis, who said he heard the crack of a rooflight breaking and as he turned around saw Mr May’s feet going through the hole.

He went over and looked through the hole but he could not see him. He shouted his name but there was no response.

The inquest also heard testimony from David Hill, a specialist inspector for the Health and Safety Executive.

He said nearly half of all fatalities from falls from a height were attributed to fragile roofs and materials.

On the last day of the inquest, all the evidence had been heard and the 11-person jury took almost two hours to return with a conclusion.

After a conclusion that Mr May died from multiple injuries consistent with a fall, Assistant Coroner Tanyka Rawden apologised to Mr May’s wife, Louise May, and her mother who were present at court. Her first son, Lucas, had joined her on the first two days of the inquest.

The coroner told her: “I’m so sorry we’ve had to go through this process and I’m so sorry that Jon isn’t with you any more and those boys have lost their dad.

“I was so impressed with Lucas over the last few days. I have to say I was a bit scared when I found out he was 16. I thought maybe he was a little bit too young but the questions he asked – what an intelligent young man.”

Mrs May said her son had struggled at first after his father’s death as he had just been starting high school.

The youngest one had been in “a bit of a blur” at first but they were both doing fine now.

She also said they were meeting Mr May’s family and would be going on holiday soon.