Welcome to HSE prosecutions in brief. An overview of this weeks prosecutions by the HSE.
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Council in court after respite resident scalded
The Isle of Wight Council has been fined £12,000 after an elderly resident staying in respite care was seriously scalded at a care home in Freshwater.
The Health and Safety Executive (HSE) prosecuted the local authority for failing to have the correct shower fitting at a resource centre, which led to the incident.
Portsmouth Magistrates’ Court heard that on the 30 October 2009, Brian Leek 76, was staying at the respite residential care facility at The Gouldings, St Andrews Way, Isle of Wight. This is one of three resource centres operated by the island’s council offering a range of facilities and care.
On the day of the incident, Mr Leek entered the bathroom, undressed, turned on the shower and sat on the bath’s hoist seat below the shower unit. Unfortunately very hot water from the shower sprayed onto his lower back, scalding him severely and causing 13 per cent burns.
Mr Leek was hospitalised on the Isle of Wight and then transferred to a burns unit in Salisbury. Following this incident, he now lives in a care home and has not been able to return to live with his wife.
The HSE investigation found the shower fitting was not suitable for use in a healthcare facility and was not installed with a thermostatic mixing valve (TMV), which would have limited the temperature to 41°C. Two other resource centres, The Adelaide in Ryde and Westminster House in Newport, also had showers available for use with no TMV protection.
The investigation also found the council had no system for maintaining those TMVs already in place, and had no system for taking water temperatures.
Isle of Wight Council, County Hall, High Street, Newport, Isle of Wight, pleaded guilty to Section 3(1) of the Health & Safety at Work etc. Act 1974. The local authority was fined £12,000 and ordered to pay costs of £5,133.
Comments from the HSE through the link.
St Helens man sentenced over gas explosion
The Managing Director of a St Helens gas supply firm has appeared in court after he and an employee suffered multiple burns in an explosion.
John Webster was prosecuted by the Health and Safety Executive (HSE) after he and another worker received burns to their faces, hands and legs at North West Gases Ltd. A third employee sustained minor injuries in the explosion, which lifted the roof off the building on Alma Street in St Helens.
Liverpool Crown Court heard that Mr Webster, 55, and another worker, who has asked not to be named, had been attempting to remove the valve on an LPG (liquefied petroleum gas) cylinder on 10 April 2008.
The HSE investigation found Mr Webster, whose company provides LPG for a range of uses including powering forklift trucks, had failed to ensure the cylinder was empty and there was no ignition source present before starting work.
Subsequently, gas escaped from the cylinder and ignited. The resulting fire and explosion set Mr Webster’s clothing on fire and his employee was thrown across the building.
Both men were treated in a specialist burns unit and the employee suffered post-traumatic stress disorder. A third man who was working outside the workshop also suffered minor injuries.
John Webster was found guilty of a breach of the Health and Safety at Work etc Act 1974 by failing to take reasonable care of himself and his employees, following a trial at Liverpool Crown Court. Mr Webster, of Archer Grove in St Helens, was fined £22,500 and ordered to pay prosecution costs of £2,500 on 13 February 2012.
Comments from the HSE through the link.
London construction company fined after worker badly injured
A construction company in Harrow has been fined after a worker suffered life-changing injuries when he fell seven metres from an unguarded roof.
The Health and Safety Executive (HSE) prosecuted R & G Construction Ltd of Harrow as a result of the incident on 7 March 2011.
Vasile Ionel Vatca, a 28-year-old Romanian, had been working on a major refurbishment project at Eaton Mews North in Belgravia. The project included the construction of a basement, and a roof replacement. Mr Vatca was on top of the roof and had been clearing up debris left over from construction work which had been carried out on the roof.
HSE’s investigation found that work on the roof had been carried out by employees and subcontractors who had previously been protected from falling off the roof by scaffolding, but this had been removed the previous month. Although the site’s fall safety equipment was used after the 7 March incident, it was deemed to be entirely inadequate, and workers remained at risk of falling from height.
Westminster Magistrates’ Court heard that on the day of the incident, Mr Vatca was on the top of the roof, and the only way to get there was using a ladder which only reached to the lower part of the roof. While he was climbing down, the ladder fell away from the building, Mr Vatca lost his footing and fell about seven metres, suffering a broken leg, heel and wrist. He was hospitalised for a week and is still not working. When sentencing, the judge commented on the severity of Mr Vatca’s injuries and the fact that he is now registered disabled.
R & G Construction Ltd of College Road in Harrow pleaded guilty to breaching Regulation 4(1)(a), Regulation 5 and Regulation 6(3) of the Work at Height Regulations 2005. The company was fined £30,000 and ordered to pay full costs of £7,515.
Comments from the HSE through the link.
Dorset firm fined after worker’s arm was crushed in machinery
A man had his arm crushed while trying to feed metal sheeting through machinery, Bournemouth Crown Court heard today (16 February).
David James, 34, of Queensland Road, Weymouth has been unable to return to his job because of the injury which caused him severe pain.
Aden Pro Form Ltd, of Parkstone Road, Poole, was fined £15,000 and ordered to pay £17,104 in costs in the case brought by the Health and Safety Executive (HSE) at Bournemouth Crown Court.
Full story through the link.
Vehicle repair firm in court over Manchester roof death
A vehicle repair firm has been sentenced over the death of a man who fell through a fragile garage roof in Manchester.
Mohammed Hashim, 76, was helping to fix a new advertising sign to the roof of GB Autos on the Longsight Industrial Estate on Newton Avenue when he fell through a skylight. He did not regain consciousness and died two weeks later in hospital.
Quality Exhaust Supplies and Fitting Service Ltd, which owns the garage, was prosecuted by the Health and Safety Executive (HSE) for failing to ensure Mr Hashim’s safety.
Quality Exhaust Supplies and Fitting Service Ltd pleaded guilty to breaching Section 3(1) of the Health and Safety at Work etc Act 1974. The company was fined £15,000 and ordered to pay £3,000 in prosecution costs on 16 February 2012.
Full story through the link.
Owner fined for girl’s fall from funfair ride in Birmingham
A fairground owner from Nottingham has been sentenced after a 12-year-old girl injured her leg when she was thrown from a faulty ride in Birmingham.
Birmingham Magistrates’ Court heard the girl fell about three metres through a gap in a barrier gate on the Tagada fairground ride at Star City, Birmingham, while the ride was tilting.
Henry Evans, of Stock Well, Bulwell, Nottingham, pleaded guilty to breaching Regulation 5(1) of the Provision and Use of Work Equipment Regulations 1998 and was fined £1,000 and ordered to pay £2,000 costs.
Full story through the link.
Gas engineer left pub kitchen at risk
A gas engineer from Ascot has been fined for work he carried out on a commercial catering gas installation in a local pub, despite not being registered for such work
The Health and Safety Executive (HSE) prosecuted Philip Payne, 49, trading as Wentworth Plumbing and Heating, for work he carried out in the kitchen at The Swinley in Ascot. On an unspecified date between 1 and 14 August 2009, he carried out work in the pub’s catering kitchen but did not do the work in line with appropriate standards, leaving it at risk.
Philip Payne, of Brook Avenue, Ruby Brook, Ascot, pleaded guilty to breaching Regulations 3(3) and 5(3) of the Gas Safety (Installation and Use) Regulations 1998 and was fined £1,300 in total and ordered to pay £1,000 in costs.
Full story through the link.
Automotive component manufacturer fined after worker loses fingers
A firm specialising in manufacturing rubber components for the automotive industry has been prosecuted after a worker suffered disabling hand injuries.
The 46-year-old worker from Coalville, Leicestershire, who has asked not to be named, has been left with only the thumb on his left hand fully intact, after the incident at Schlegel Automotive Europe Ltd’s Coalville factory on 4 March 2010.
Leicester Magistrates Court heard he was clearing a blockage around the heated nozzle of a 20 tonnes injection-moulding machine when the nozzle was pushed through his left hand, causing severe injuries which later resulted in the amputation of all four fingers. As the worker is left-handed, his injuries have made him unable to carry out some simple everyday tasks and he has been off work for 17 months.
Schlegel Automotive Europe Ltd, of Beveridge Lane, Bardon Hill, Coalville, pleaded guilty to breaching section 2(1) of the Health and Safety at Work etc Act 1974. The company was fined £9,000 and ordered to pay full costs of £6,584.
Full story through the link.
Property manager fined for asbestos failings
A property manager from Cardiff has been fined for failing to properly manage the risks from asbestos at one of his premises.
Richard Hayward of Cardiff Bay was prosecuted by the Health and Safety Executive (HSE) over failings at the former Rhondda Pressing building, located on the Penygraig Industrial Estate.
Mr Hayward, trading as Richard Hayward Properties, managed the property on behalf of a company called Guinevere Holdings Limited.
Pontypridd Magistrates’ Court heard that Mr Hayward had let out part of the building in 2007 but it was only in 2008, when a request to provide an asbestos survey for insurance purposes was made, that the presence of asbestos insulating board (AIB) roof tiles and brown and blue asbestos was identified in the premises.
A subsequent HSE investigation confirmed there was a risk of exposure to asbestos due to the poor condition the asbestos was found in.
Mr Hayward, of Adventurers’ Quay, Cardiff Bay, pleaded guilty to breaching Section 3 (1) of the Health and Safety at Work etc Act 1974. He was fined £12,000 and ordered to pay costs of £20,000.
Full story through the link.
Cheshire manufacturer sentenced over finger loss
A Macclesfield firm has appeared in court after one of its employees lost two fingers in machinery.
The 34-year-old was polishing a 12-centimetre-long piece of metal, spinning on a lathe at up to 850 times a minute, when his right hand was dragged into the mechanism.
His middle and ring finger were cut off to the second knuckle as a result of the incident at the factory, on Adlington Industrial Estate in Adlington, on 24 March 2010.
Proseal (UK) Ltd, which manufactures tray-sealing machines for the food industry, was prosecuted by the Health and Safety Executive (HSE) after an investigation found the employee had been allowed to wear gloves while working at the lathe.
Proseal (UK) Ltd pleaded guilty to breaching Section 2(1) of the Health and Safety at Work etc Act 1974 by failing to ensure the safety of its employees. The company was fined £3,500 and ordered to pay £3,807 in prosecution costs on 17 February 2012.
Full story through the link.
