Welcome to HSE prosecutions in brief. An overview of this weeks prosecutions by the HSE.
Care home sentenced after resident’s bed rail death
A Llangollen nursing home has been fined £70,000 following the suffocation of an elderly woman after she become trapped between her mattress and bed rails intended to stop her falling.
Deevale Homecare and Services Ltd of Grosvenor Road, Wrexham, who own and operate the Headlands Nursing Home in Llangollen, pleaded guilty to breaching Section 3(1) of the Health & Safety at Work etc. Act 1974, and Regulation 3 (1) Management of Health & Safety at Work Regulations 1999. They were sentenced at Mold Crown Court today and fined £70,000, with £21,818.56 in costs.
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Landlord prosecuted for putting tenants’ lives at risk
A landlord has been fined £800 after dangerous defects were found on gas appliances at a property rented out to tenants.
Mr Azam was fined a total of £800 for contravening regulations 36(2) and 36(3)(a) of the Gas Safety (Installation and Use) Regulations 1998. He was also ordered to pay costs of £2,000.
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Company fined after security guard dies from carbon monoxide poisoning
A London construction company and a security company manager have been fined a total of £90,000 after a security guard died from carbon monoxide poisoning while at a work.
The Heath and Safety Executive (HSE) prosecuted Precis Holdings Ltd and Mr Obioma Chukwudi for their parts in the incident.
Precis Holdings Ltd of Park Lane, Westminster pleaded guilty to breaching Section 4(2) of the Health and Safety at Work etc Act 1974. The company was fined £60,000 and ordered to pay costs of £24,515.
Obioma Chukwudi of Iona Cresent, Slough, Berkshire, pleaded guilty to breaching Section 3(2) of the Health and Safety at Work etc Act 1974. He was fined £30,000 and ordered to pay costs of £15,000.
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Kent builder fined after man falls through roof
A builder from Kent has been fined £800 after an employee fell more than three metres through a garage roof.
Hugh Pattison of Ripley Road, Willesborough, Ashford, Kent pleaded guilty to breaching section 2(1) of the Health and Safety at Work etc Act 1974. He was fined £800 and ordered to pay costs of £200.
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Contractor fined £100,000 after worker fatality in Belgravia
A contractor has been fined £100,000 after a foreign construction worker was buried alive while working on a property in London’s Belgravia.
The Health and Safety Executive (HSE) prosecuted Mr Nadeem Aftab of Rosebury Road, Fulham, who pleaded guilty to breaching Section 2(1) of the Health and Safety at Work etc. Act 1974. He was fined £100,000 and ordered to pay costs of £61,590.
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Gearbox firm fined over Oldham worker’s crush death
A gearbox manufacturer has been fined £180,000 after a worker was crushed by a 740kg slab of metal at its Rochdale plant, and later died from his injuries.
Renold Power Transmission Ltd, of Renold House in Wythenshawe, admitted breaching Section 2(1) of the Health and Safety at Work etc Act 1974 by failing to ensure the safety of its employees. It was ordered to pay £8,946 in prosecution costs in addition to the fine.
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Huntingdon firm prosecuted over worker’s injury
A Cambridgeshire company that prints and manufactures pharmaceutical packaging has been fined £5,000 after an employee’s arm was dragged into a machine.
Firstan Limited pleaded guilty to breaching Regulation 11(1)(a) of the Provision and Use of Work Equipment Regulations 1998 and were fined £5,000 with costs of £2,521.20.
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Landlord fined for illegal and dangerous gas work
A Glasgow landlord who allowed his tenants to live with dangerous gas appliances and carried out gas work in a house and flat he owned despite not being legally qualified to do so has been sentenced.
Mohammed Aslam, of Queen Mary Avenue, Glasgow, pleaded guilty to breaching Regulations 3(3) and 36(2)(a) and (b) of the Gas Safety (Installation and Use) Regulations 1998. He was fined £800.
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Firm fined for failing control wood dust risk
A Southampton-based decking company has been fined £27,000 after failing to control the risks of exposure to wood dust and adhesives at its Totton plant.
Millbrook Furnishing Industries Limited of Nutsey Lane, Calmore Industrial Estate, Totton, Southampton, pleaded guilty to breaching to section 2(1) of the Health and Safety at Work etc Act 1974. It was fined a total of £27,000 and ordered to pay costs of £25,000
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Heinz fined over finger loss at Wigan baked bean factory
Food giant Heinz has been fined £20,000 after a worker suffered serious injuries to his left hand at a baked bean factory in Wigan.
The 65-year-old worker lost his index finger, suffered severe nerve damage to two other fingers, and received deep cuts to his hand.
Heinz pleaded guilty to two health and safety offences after it failed to carry out a risk assessment for the work or to provide adequate training. The company, of Hayes Park in Hayes, Middlesex, was fined £20,000 and ordered to pay £4,496.50 in prosecution costs.
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Manchester property firm fined after workers put at risk
A Manchester property company has been fined £18,000 after two workers were spotted on the sixth floor of a city apartment block without proper equipment to prevent them falling.
Options Properties Ltd, of Princess Street, Manchester, pleaded guilty to breaching regulation 4(1) of the Work at Height Regulations 2005 by failing to ensure that the work was properly planned and supervised and carried out in a safe manner. They were fined £18,000 and ordered to pay costs of £4,115.
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Workers exposed to asbestos at Derby building site
A contractor has been prosecuted for exposing workers to asbestos in Derby.
Wayne Priestley pleaded guilty to breaching Sections 2(1) and 3(1) of the Health and Safety at Work etc Act 1974 for numerous safety failings relating to the exposure. He was ordered to serve 300 hours of community service within a 12 month period and ordered to pay costs of £500.
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Unregistered gas installer put Lincolnshire lives at risk
An unregistered gas installation company and its director illegally carried out work on properties across Lincolnshire, putting residents’ lives at risk.
Lincoln Crown Court heard employees of UK Oil and Gas Ltd, including director, Martyn Crute, carried out gas fittings and service pipework in several domestic properties between 23 February 2008 and 19 November 2008, despite not being registered with the Council for Registered Gas Installers (CORGI).
The Health and Safety Executive (HSE) prosecuted Martyn Crute for breaching Section 37(1) of the Health and Safety at Work etc. Act 1974 while UK Oil and Gas Limited of Carre Street, Sleaford were charged with breaching three sections of the Gas Safety (Installation and Use) Regulations 1998.
Both parties pleaded guilty and were today given fines totalling £8,000
Mr Crute was fined £2,000 with £41,000 costs and UK Oil and Gas Ltd were handed a £6,000 fine.
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Property firm fined after worker’s scaffold fall
A London property development company has been fined £37,500 after a migrant worker suffered severe head injuries when he fell from scaffolding at a Hackney warehouse.
Nabiganj Investment Company Limited of Alexandra Park Road, London pleaded guilty to breaching Regulation 4 (1) (a), Regulation 10, Regulation 14(1) and Regulation 16(1) of the Construction (Design and Management) Regulations 2007. The company was fined £37,500 and ordered to pay costs of £5,459.90.
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