Dad-of-three paralysed after falling from roof and left face-down on floor for six hours

A builder has been left paralysed from the chest down after , and landing on his head.

Dad-of-three Andrew Clifford fell and then was stuck lying face down on the floor for around six hours before he was eventually found by a delivery driver. He had been working alone installing first-floor joists during the construction of a house in Dronfield, Derbyshire, when the accident happened.

The 51-year-old was carrying out the work on behalf of Paul Freeman Limited – a Mansfield-based company he had worked with for around 20 years. On the morning of October 31, 2022, he slipped and fell from the first floor to the ground below and was left unable to move. He stayed awake listening to the hourly news bulletins on his radio.

He spent nearly five months in hospital, with the injuries to his spinal cord so serious they left him paralysed from the chest down, with only limited movement in his hands and arms. Speaking about the day that changed his and his family’s lives forever, Mr Clifford said: “The first thing I recall after my fall was landing on my head.

“From that point it was a very strange feeling as from when I landed, I felt no pain and I couldn’t understand why or that I couldn’t get up. My radio was on and I judged the time by the news. After an hour, I tried to move again and this carried on for around three hours. Eventually, I realised this was serious and I thought I’d better stay still as I didn’t want to cause further injuries.

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“This wasn’t the type of street where people were walking past and as it started to get dark I was getting really worried. When I was found by the delivery driver I heard him shout out, ‘hello, hello, hello’. I think I fell between 9am and 9.30 and wasn’t found until 3pm.”

Mr Clifford added that being a builder was a job he loved and described the impact the incident has had on his everyday life. He said: “I can’t do anything I used to love doing before. Simple things like doing the , washing the car and jobs around the house. I can’t even wash or dress myself now.

“I haven’t been upstairs in my house since the accident – my wife and three daughters all sleep upstairs and I sleep alone downstairs. Another thing that really upsets me is the thought of not being able to walk my daughters down the aisle when they get married.”

An investigation by the Health and Safety Executive (HSE) found that Paul Freeman Limited failed to ensure that work at height had been properly planned and, as such, no measures had been implemented to prevent falls during the construction of the first floor. Mr Clifford had not been provided with suitable instruction as to how the work should be carried out and was therefore left to work this out on his own.

Working at height remains one of the leading causes of death in the construction industry and HSE has detailed published guidance on minimising the risks associated with it. Paul Freeman Ltd of Synergy House, Acorn Business Park, Mansfield, Nottinghamshire, pleaded guilty to breaching Section 2(1) of the Health and Safety at Work Act 1974 at Derby Magistrates’ Court on November 4. They were fined £40,000 and ordered to pay costs of £6,263.

HSE inspector Sara Andrews said: “My thoughts remain with Andrew and his family, whose lives have changed dramatically as a result of this preventable incident. This case highlights the importance of undertaking a thorough assessment of the risks for all work at height activities and the need to ensure that, where work at height cannot be avoided, suitable control measures are implemented to minimise the risk of serious injury. This is even more significant when lone working.”