The prosecution
Matthew Ryan died after falling from a property in St Cyrus, near Montrose in Angus, in March 2024. He sustained a fatal head injury while working there, according to Roofing Today.
The Health and Safety Executive investigated the death. Its findings led to the prosecution of his employer, Aberdeen-based Stonehaven Roofing Services, over health and safety breaches that contributed to the incident.
Roofing Today reported that company director Andrew Kenyon pleaded guilty. The case was heard at Aberdeen Sheriff Court in July, where the company received a £20,000 fine before the reduction for the early plea.
The family’s response
Nicola Pert, Ryan’s wife and partner of 12 years, responded to the conviction in a statement released through law firm Digby Brown. She welcomed the employer being held accountable but said the outcome gave her no reason to feel glad.
Pert described a relationship in which the couple had spent almost half their lives together. She remembered her husband’s humour, dependability and enthusiasm for motoring, as well as the trips they took around the UK.
She said she did not expect ever to come fully to terms with his death. In her account, the loss had taken away the future she and both families had expected to share with him.
Pert described the death as avoidable. She also said the admission of guilt at an early stage had spared the family further distress, while stressing the importance of justice being done.
A team at Digby Brown’s Aberdeen office is supporting Pert and Ryan’s wider family with the claim against Stonehaven Roofing Services. That work follows the criminal prosecution investigated by the HSE.