Employer to be sentenced over gardener's 80-foot fall

Monday 07 January 2019

The owner of a gardening business has admitted that his actions led his 57-year-old employee to fall 80 feet down cliffs at Bonne Nuit, suffering serious injuries.

The owner of Nunes Gardening and Maintenance Limited admitted breaching the Health and Safety Law in the Royal Court on Friday, and will be sentenced on 8 February.

On 16 May, Ferdinando Moniz Assuncao, one of the company's gardeners, fell 80 feet down the cliffs at Bonne Nuit while working at a St. John property. His accident prompted a joint operation involving more than 30 Emergency Services officials.

Mr Assuncao had hurt his head, back and leg and rescuers had to lower him on down to Bonne Nuit, before transferring him to Southampton General Hospital.

#greenwatch are currently at an incident where someone has fallen onto the rocks below. Using our rope rescue equipment & Inshore Rescue Boat we are working with the paramedic’s & RNLI, to get the casualty to safety. pic.twitter.com/DOGovsokHa

— Jersey Fire & Rescue (@JsyFire) May 16, 2018

A friend of Mr Assuncao's daughters started a crowdfunding campaign shortly after to make sure they could travel to go and see him and islanders donated over £1,745.

An investigation was subsequently launched, leading to Mr Assuncao's employer appearing in the Royal Court on Friday.

He faced one charge of breaching the Health and Safety at Work Law by failing "to ensure the health, safety and welfare at work of all his employees".

Pictured: Mr Assuncao's injuries were so serious that he had to be treated at Southampton Hospital.

The summons read in Court stated that he had failed to assess the risks of the gardening duties at the St. John property. It also stated that he had failed to "devise a safe system for employees to undertake tasks whilst outside the perimeter of the premises nor expressly prohibited employees from undertaking tasks outside."

Finally, he was said to have failed to provide information, instruction, training and supervision to employees.

The document added that, as a consequence of these failings, Mr Assuncao had been "exposed to the risk of the injury" while working, leading him to be seriously hurt as he "fell 25 metres from the cliff to the beach below".

Pictured: Mr Assuncao's employer will be sentenced in Royal Court on 8 February.

The employer, represented by Advocate George Pearce, admitted the breach and was released on bail until the sentencing.

Lead photo: Jersey Fire and Rescue Service.