Welcome to HSE prosecutions in brief. An overview of this weeks prosecutions by the HSE.
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Worksop man fined after death of worker
A Worksop man has been fined after an employee was crushed to death when a tractor overturned and landed on him.
Christopher Fox, 60, from Osberton near Worksop, was killed instantly when the tractor overturned during a tree felling operation. Mr Fox was standing by the tractor which was being used to control the direction of the falling tree as it was being felled. However, the tree fell in an unexpected direction and overturned the tractor, crushing Mr Fox.
The incident happened on 4 November 2009 at Hodsock Forest Farm, Blyth Road in the town. Mr Fox was employed by the GMT Foljambe 1996 Discretionary Trust, on the Osberton estate, of which defendant George Michael Thornhagh Foljambe is a trustee.
After a Health and Safety Executive (HSE) investigation Mr Foljambe of Mill Farm, Osberton, was prosecuted at Nottingham Crown Court for failing to ensure Mr Fox’s safety and failing to ensure he had received adequate training in the equipment he was using.
Mr Foljambe, pleaded guilty to breaching Regulation 2(1) of the Health and Safety at Work etc Act 1974 and Regulation 9(1) of the Provision and Use of Work Equipment Regulations 1998.
Yesterday (Monday, 16 April), he was fined a total of £10,000 and ordered to pay costs of £20,327.
Comments from the HSE through the link.
Packaging company fined after worker hit by lorry
The Corrugated Case Company Ltd has been fined after an employee was seriously injured by a heavy goods vehicle at its site on Pilsley Road in Danesmoor, Chesterfield.
Pete Newsum, 55, of Chesterfield was returning to site from neighbouring premises after his lunch break on 14 December 2010 when the incident happened. The site was particularly congested with vehicles due to recent bad weather, which had prevented deliveries and collections in the days prior to the incident.
As he approached the company’s yard on foot, a heavy goods vehicle was manoeuvring to allow another vehicle to move. The man followed the kerb into the company site and waited for the HGV to reverse past him, down the yard. When the vehicle passed him, Mr Newsum stepped off the kerb and out in front of the vehicle, assuming it would continue going backwards. At the same time, the HGV stopped reversing and moved forwards, knocking the man to the ground and dragging him underneath the vehicle.
A member of the public passing on the main road noticed the high visibility jacket worn by the man beneath the lorry and alerted the lorry driver, who immediately stopped the vehicle.
Mr Newsum suffered damage to his lower spine, fractures to his pelvis, ribs and leg, a damaged shoulder and cuts to the head. He was resuscitated twice in hospital and currently suffers from post-traumatic epilepsy, breathing difficulties, and mobility difficulties. He is still unable to work and it is not yet known whether he will be able to return to his job as a fork lift truck driver.
The Corrugated Case Company, of Pilsley Road, Danesmoor, Chesterfield, pleaded guilty to breaching Section 17(1) of the Workplace (Health, Safety and Welfare) Regulations 1992 and Regulation 3(1)(a) of the Management of Health and Safety at Work Regulations 1999. Today magistrates fined the company £8,000 and ordered it to pay costs of £7,435.
Full story through the link.
Bedford dry cleaners fined for safety failings
A chain of dry cleaners in Bedford has been fined after putting workers’ lives at risk from a poorly-maintained gas boiler.
Bedford Magistrates’ Court heard inspectors from the Health and Safety Executive (HSE) visited Kempston Cleaners in Tavistock Street on 1 July 2011 after an alert from an Environmental Health Officer at Bedford Borough Council. During their visit they discovered the gas-fired steam boiler was in a dangerous condition.
It was severely corroded, the flue was cracked and damaged, several burners were not working properly and there was a high risk that workers and members of the public were being exposed to toxic carbon monoxide emissions.
HSE served a Prohibition Notice immediately requiring the owner to demonstrate the boiler did not leak carbon monoxide into the spaces occupied by people. Its subsequent investigation found the company had failed to put a proper system in place to ensure the steam pressure system associated with the boiler was regularly serviced.
Kempston Cleaners Limited of 58 Tavistock Street, Bedford, admitted breaching Regulation 5 (1) of the Provision and Use of Work Equipment Regulations for which it was fined £4,000 and Regulation 8 of the Pressure Systems Safety Regulations for which it was fined £2,000. The company was ordered to pay £1,146.50 costs and a £15 victim surcharge.
Comments from the HSE through the link.
Building firm fined after passer-by hit by falling equipment
A Hertfordshire building company has been fined for injuring a woman as she waited for a bus.
Concentra Ltd, based in Waltham Cross, was prosecuted by the Health and Safety Executive (HSE) after inspectors found that the incident on 26 September 2008 was preventable.
Westminster Magistrates’ Court heard yesterday (18 April) how a member of the public was waiting for a bus on York Road, London, when she was hit by a piece of machinery being lifted to the fifth floor of a nearby office block.
The woman suffered severe multiple injuries including several broken bones and cuts and swelling to her head. She was in hospital for eight days and the injuries have affected her work and studies.
The building was being refurbished and instead of traditional scaffolding being used on the site, a mast climber had been erected, which allowed workers to be raised and lowered on the outside of the building.
The HSE investigation found that a crane and lifting slings were being used to lift a 380kg, 0.6m square by 2m high, air handling unit. The crane was not fitted correctly and during the lift, the unit hit a mast climber and was knocked out of its sling causing it to fall from height and hit the member of the public.
Concentra Ltd of High Street, Waltham Cross, Hertfordshire, EN8 7D, were found guilty of breaching Section 3(1) of the Health and Safety at Work Act 1974 in relation to the incident. The firm was fined £20,000 and ordered to pay costs of £21,000.
Comments from the HSE through the link.
Suffolk mushroom grower prosecuted after workers’ lives put at risk
A company has been fined after a visit by Health and Safety Executive (HSE) inspectors found dangerous conditions in a factory on an industrial estate near Bury St Edmunds, Suffolk.
Suffolk Mushrooms Limited was also housing 37 employees in a disused office block with a potentially unsafe gas boiler on the Shepherd Grove Industrial Estate, East Stanton in Suffolk. Bury St Edmunds Magistrates’ Court heard today that in September 2010, St Edmundsbury Borough Council informed HSE, who then investigated and prosecuted the company.
The HSE investigation found that the heating in the living accommodation was provided by a Liquefied Petroleum Gas (LPG) fired boiler in the men’s toilet. There was no landlord’s gas safety certificate for this boiler, which is a legal requirement.
In the factory used as the mushroom farm, HSE inspectors found a number of safety failings. The gates on the work platforms used by employees to reach the highest mushroom beds were propped open and an HGV regularly reversed 100m between the two growing sheds where people might be walking. Inspectors also found that forklift trucks were being operated by drivers who were not properly trained and equipment was being towed around unsafely with pieces of knotted rope.
Suffolk Mushrooms Ltd of Shepherds Grove Industrial Estate, Stanton, Bury St Edmunds, admitted breaching Section 2(1) of the Health and Safety at Work etc Act 1974 and was fined £10,000 and £750 for not having a landlord Gas Safety report for the boiler, and ordered to pay £8,446.05 in costs.
Comments from the HSE through the link.
