Welcome to HSE prosecutions in brief. An overview of this weeks prosecutions by the HSE.
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Healthcare provider fined after worker injury
A private healthcare provider managing a hospital in Ipswich has been fined for safety failings after an employee suffered a fractured kneecap.
Mrs Shelagh Allen, from Mendlesham, Suffolk, was working in the clinic room of a ward at Nuffield Health Ipswich Hospital on 5 May 2011 when the incident happened.
The floor of the clinic room was being wet-mopped by a housekeeper during the ward’s busiest period. Mrs Allen went into the room after completing a patient drugs round and fell badly on her right knee causing a multiple fracture of her kneecap. Her knee was operated on at the hospital that same day and she was discharged two days later. She was fitted with a leg brace and was able to walk only with the aid of crutches for around 4 months.
Mrs Allen could only return to work on light duties after ten months and still has to take painkillers. She now has reduced movement in her right knee and can no longer kneel on it. She may still have to undergo further surgery.
Ipswich Magistrates’ Court heard that an investigation by the Health and Safety Executive (HSE) found that Nuffield Health had failed to ensure the safety of Mrs Allen and others whilst working in their hospital.
Nuffield Health, registered at 40-44 Coombe Road, New Malden, Surrey, admitted breaching Section 2(1) of the Health and Safety at Work etc. Act 1974 and was fined £5,000 and ordered to pay £10,503.55 in costs. The company was also asked to pay a £15 victim surcharge, the proceeds of which will be spent on services for victims and witnesses.
Comments from the HSE through the link.
Kent farmer prosecuted for pesticide failings
A Kent farmer has been prosecuted for storing and using an illegal pesticide that was sprayed on a crop of pears.
David Lewis Stevens, from Sittingbourne, used Amitraz on the fruit despite the substance being banned in the UK since 31 December 2007.
Maidstone Magistrates’ Court heard today (8 May) that routine monitoring by the Pesticides Residue Committee at Elm Farm, in Lower Halstow, on 19 May 2010 found traces of Amitraz on a batch Comice pears recently treated by Mr Stevens.
A subsequent investigation by the Health and Safety Executive (HSE) revealed the agricultural pesticide, and others, were inappropriately stored for use. They were stowed in a haphazard and potentially dangerous manner, and many were unapproved and unlicensed.
Mr Stevens, of School Lane, Newington, pleaded guilty to three separate breaches of the Control of Pesticide Regulations 1986 for his failings. He was fined £3,000 and ordered to pay £3,500 in costs.
Comments from the HSE through the link.
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Totton director fined after worker suffers burns
The director of a Totton company has been fined after an employee suffered burns while cutting the top off an unused propane gas tank at the director’s home.
The 29 year-old worker from Winchester, who does not want to be named, suffered burns over his left arm, torso and abdomen when he was asked by Jamie Thomas Jewell, of Calmore, Totton, to cut off the top of the tank with a disc cutter which set the flammable gases alight, on 2 September 2011.
The employee had to take three weeks off work and return to his job on light duties for a further month.
A Health and Safety Executive (HSE) investigation found the gas tank had not been emptied and made safe. The risks of the work had not been assessed and no information, instruction or training was passed to the employee.
West Hampshire Magistrates’ Court heard today (9 May) that Jamie Thomas Jewell, 40, director of Suffix Pre-cast Ltd of Brokenford Business Park, Brokenford Lane, Totton, Southampton, was out of his depth with the work. He did not have sufficient knowledge of the hazards associated with working with propane gas to carry out the work competently or to supervise others as they did so.
Jamie Thomas Jewell, of Calmore, Totton, Hants, pleaded guilty to breaching Section 2 (1) of the Health and Safety at Work etc Act. 1974 and was prosecuted as an individual under Section 37 of that Act.
He was fined £2,000 and ordered to pay costs of £2,451.
Comments from the HSE through the link.
Construction firms sentenced over Liverpool crane collapse
Two construction firms have been sentenced after a crane collapsed onto a city centre apartment block in Liverpool, resulting in the crane driver being paralysed from the waist down.
The 79-metre-high tower crane was being used as part of a multi-million pound project to build a new eight-storey hotel and seven apartment blocks at Kings Dock Mill on Tabley Street when it overturned on 6 July 2009.
The Health and Safety Executive (HSE) prosecuted the site’s principal contractor, Bowmer and Kirkland Ltd, and structural engineering company Bingham Davis Ltd following an investigation into the incident.
Liverpool Crown Court heard the crane fell onto a partially constructed apartment block, across a road and came to rest on the Chandlers Wharf apartments. Eight counterweights on the crane, weighing a total of 56 tonnes, broke free and crashed through the roof and six floors of the building.
Crane driver Iain Gillham, 55, from Woolton, fell from his cab onto the roof of the apartments and through the hole created by the counterweights.
He suffered multiple injuries including a brain haemorrhage, fractured skull, broken right shoulder, broken ribs, crush injuries to his left side, and major spinal injuries which resulted in his legs being paralysed.
Both companies were found guilty of breaches of the Health and Safety at Work etc Act 1974 following a trial at Liverpool Crown Court by failing to ensure the safety of workers or residents.
Bowmer and Kirkland Ltd, of Church Street in Heage, Derbyshire, was fined £280,000. A decision on prosecution costs will be made separately.
Bingham Davis Ltd, formerly of Temple Street in Liverpool, has ceased trading since the crane collapse after going into voluntary liquidation. The company was fined a nominal £1,000.
View photos and read full story here.
Print firm fined after flash fire injures two workers
A printing company based in Waltham Forest has been fined for safety failings after two workers were burned in a flash fire when vapours from a flammable cleaning fluid ignited in a print room.
The two printers, employed by Delta Display Ltd in Blackhorse Lane, Walthamstow, suffered burns and one suffered serious breaks to both legs as he tried to escape the fire. One of them described the explosion and fire as a ‘flamethrower’ coming from the top of the printing press.
An investigation into the incident on 20 May 2011 was carried out by the Health and Safety Executive (HSE) which brought the prosecution. HSE found the company had ignored guidance given by the press manufacturers that there was a danger of fire and explosion if any cleaning agent with a flash point below 55 degrees centigrade was used.
Westminster Magistrates’ Court heard (9 May) that the two men had been using the solvent provided to hand-clean the ‘blankets’ of a printing press, a regular task to clear the build-up of ink. The solvent, called QE3, had a flash point of minus 20 degrees centigrade.
They had completed part of the process when one of them saw a flash in front of his eyes and the fire started. He jumped from the press over a safety rail to escape, shattering his left ankle, fracturing his right heel and sustaining burns on his right calf and left arm. Fellow workers were able to extinguish the fire.
This employee was in hospital for 15 days and initially off work for four months. He had two operations and is currently undergoing physiotherapy after the second. The other employee received burns to his arms but was back at work soon after the incident.
Delta Display Ltd of Walthamstow, E17, pleaded guilty to a breach of the Dangerous Substances and Explosive Atmospheres Regulations 2002 and was fined £12,000 with £5,250 costs. The company, part of the Delta Group, employs some 400 people and specialises in producing promotional marketing materials.
Comments from the HSE through the link.
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Company fined after worker’s finger severed by saw
A Stoke-on-Trent timber company has been fined after an employee lost his finger while operating a circular saw.
The 42-year-old worker from Stoke on Trent, who has asked not to be named, severed his finger while using a circular bench saw at Scott Timber Limited on 12 January 2011.
A Health and Safety Executive (HSE) investigation found that the top guard on the saw had not been adjusted correctly, the required ‘push stick’ protection device was not attached to the machinery, and the employee had not been given sufficient training to operate the saw.
Stafford Magistrates’ Court yesterday (Wednesday, 9 May) heard that the victim was off work for several months as a result of the incident, and his day to day life has also been adversely affected.
Scott Timber Limited of Oldfields Business Park, Birrell Street, Stoke on Trent, pleaded guilty to breaching section Regulation 11(1) of the Provision and Use of Work Equipment Regulations 1998 (PUWER).
The company was fined £5,000 by the court, and ordered to pay full costs of £2,309.
Comments from the HSE through the link.
Man jailed for illegal inspections of play equipment
A Chester man has been jailed for more than 14 months after repeatedly ignoring a legal order preventing him from inspecting inflatable play equipment.
The Health and Safety Executive (HSE) prosecuted Peter McCormack (previously known as Peter Coltilda and Peter John Morrell), of Garden Lane, Chester, for carrying out inspections of inflatables and issuing test certificates for them in contravention of a Prohibition Notice from HSE, and for carrying out unsafe seam repairs to one.
Caernarfon Crown Court heard that examples of wrongdoing by Mr McCormack, aged 77, included:
- An inspection of a pool inflatable at Poynton Leisure Centre, Cheshire, on 15 July 2010 and the issuing of the certificate two days later
- An inspection of a bouncy castle in Carterton, Oxfordshire, on 23 August 2010 and the issuing of the certificate a day later
- Another bouncy castle inspection at Abbey Leisure Centre in Selby, Yorkshire, on 19 August 2010
- One at Tadcaster, Yorkshire, on 3 August 2011
- One at Selby Park, Yorkshire, on 3 August 2011
He repaired one of the bouncy castles at Selby Park poorly on 3 August 2011, so there was a risk of children’s fingers and toes being trapped in the open seams.
The court also heard today that in these illegal inspections, Mr McCormack failed to spot defects, which could have caused injuries to children.
He pleaded guilty to seven breaches of Section 33(1)(g) of the Health and Safety at Work etc. Act 1974 and one of Section 3(2) of the Act and was sentenced to 62 weeks in prison. He has already served 78 days imposed at an earlier hearing for breaching bail conditions. Today the court ruled he must serve half of the remaining time before being released on licence.
Mr McCormack has changed his name by deed poll. He was previously known as Peter Coltilda, and before that as Peter John Morrell. The court also heard that Mr McCormack is also now known by the name Paul Armstrong.
Read the full story through the link.
Receptionist’s roof fall puts dental firm in court
The operator of a Sheffield dental practice has been fined for safety failings after a receptionist fell more than three metres through a roof light while spending her lunch break on the flat roof of the surgery.
The woman, then 40, went on to the roof of a single-storey extension at the Firvale Dental Practice, operated by Integrated Dental Holdings, with a colleague at lunchtime.
During a two-week trial, Sheffield Crown Court heard the woman sat on the domed roof light, not realising how fragile it was. The plastic of the roof light gave way and she fell to the floor injuring her back, shoulder, knee and neck and was hospitalised. The jury heard that at least five other workers had used the roof, and were at risk of falling from the roof edge or through the roof lights.
The prosecution against Integrated Dental Holdings Ltd, of Bolton, Lancashire, was brought after a detailed investigation into the incident, on 25 March 2009, by the Health and Safety Executive (HSE).
The court heard the flat roof of the surgery, based in Blyde Road, was easily reached using a door on the first floor of the main building. Although the door was locked, the key was left hanging nearby.
Some four years earlier, in a risk assessment by its own health and safety consultant, the practice had been warned the roof lights were fragile and that no protection was in place to prevent falls from the open roof edges. The owner had also failed to act on advice to remove the keys to the roof access door and to post ‘no entry’ signs.
Integrated Dental Holdings of Sunset Business Park in Kearsley, Bolton, a leading dental group in the UK, was found guilty of breaching the Health and Safety at Work etc Act 1974 and was fined £18,500 with costs of £71,632.79.
Comments from the HSE through the link.
Construction firm fined over worker’s fall injuries
A construction firm has been sentenced for safety failings after a roofer was badly injured in a fall from scaffolding at a house in Trafford.
Stephen Cartwright fell approximately three metres from the scaffolding, which had no safety rail, at a detached property on Carrwood, in Hale Barns, on 31 May 2011.
The 44-year-old, from Blacon near Chester, landed on a flat garage roof and sustained serious injuries to his right leg, including a dislocated knee and broken bones.
The Health and Safety Executive investigated the incident and immediately served six enforcement notices on his employer New Generation (Manchester) Ltd, stopping some work activities at the site and requiring improvements to be made.
Trafford Magistrates Court was told today (11 May) the scaffolding was in a poor condition and there were unprotected gaps in the floors and walls, all of which could have led to someone being injured in a fall.
New Generation (Manchester) Ltd was prosecuted for three braches of the Construction (Design and Management) Regulations 2007 by HSE for failing to properly plan and manage the work, for failing to provide a safe place to work, and for failing to ensure the site was in a good state.
The company, of Sackville Street in Manchester pleaded guilty all three offences. It was fined £3,900 and ordered to pay £4,000 in prosecution costs on Friday 11 May.
Comments from the HSE through the link.
Leicestershire firms fined after death of worker
Two Leicestershire companies have been fined after a worker was killed when a lorry overturned onto his vehicle.
Richard Kenny, 48, from Earl Shilton, was killed instantly as the mini digger he was driving was crushed when a tipper lorry suddenly overturned on uneven ground while delivering around 20 tonnes of aggregate to a construction site.
The incident happened on 3 October 2006 during the construction of the Waltham Centre for Pet Nutrition, Freeby Lane, Melton Mowbray. J H Hallam (Contracts) Ltd and J & H Construction Ltd were prosecuted by the Health and Safety Executive (HSE) for failing to ensure the safety of Mr Kenny and for failing to properly plan, organise or control the tipping of bulk materials at the site.
Mr Kenny was employed by J&H Construction Ltd who had been subcontracted by principal contractor J H Hallam (Contracts) Ltd to do the groundworks at the site.
Leicester Crown Court heard the workplace transport risk assessment failed to properly consider tipping operations and the specific risks of vehicles overturning. The tipping area had not been adequately assessed as being safe for tipping operations, was not sufficiently level and had been poorly prepared.
HSE discovered deliveries of bulk materials were made without adequate supervision, a banksman or an exclusion zone around the vehicle during tipping and in addition, pedestrians were not kept away from vehicles, particularly during tipping.
J H Hallam (Contracts) Ltd, of Leicester Road, Oadby, pleaded guilty to breaching Section 3(1) of the Health and Safety at Work etc Act 1974. J & H Construction, of De La Bere Crescent, Burbage, Hinckley, pleaded guilty to breaching Section 2(1) of the same Act.
J H Hallam (Contracts) Ltd was fined £80,000 and ordered to pay £20,000 costs. J & H Construction Ltd was fined £50,000 and ordered to pay £20,000 costs.
Comments from the HSE through the link.
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