Hewden Crane Hire was fined £60,000 ($84,000) in May for safety breaches which led to the death of a workman in January 2000.
Brian Horne was being lowered in a man-basket, by crane, through the roof of a building when two safety bolts on the the basket came undone, the door swung open, and he fell 9m to the ground.
The Health & Safety Executive investigated and found that the basket had an inward-hinging door and no restraining bolt to prevent opening. A vertical bolt near the floor had been improperly secured and a horizontal bolt had become unlocked during lifting. An external safety consultant had failed to point out the defect during a recent inspection.
Hewden immediately withdrew all similar man-baskets for modifications after the accident.
