Welcome to HSE prosecutions in brief. A selection of the latest prosecutions by the HSE. Where possible, links are provided to relevant British Standards, guidance and publications.
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Company fined after workers and public exposed to asbestos risk
A property restoration and development company has been fined after workers and the public were exposed to asbestos in a Lincolnshire town.
J Hodgson and Sons Ltd, of Carre Street, Sleaford, disturbed asbestos insulating board during refurbishment work at the former White Hart pub in Southgate in the town between March and June 2011.
The company placed the material in an open skip close to a busy thoroughfare in the early stages of stripping out the building. A surveyor visiting the premises reported this to the Health and Safety Executive (HSE), which immediately served a Prohibition Notice stopping all work at the site until the firm employed a licensed asbestos removal company to take the material away.
At Lincoln Magistrates’ Court today (10 September), J Hodgson and Sons Ltd pleaded guilty to two separate breaches of the Control of Asbestos Regulations 2006 for failing to prevent the spread of asbestos and exposure to it. The company was fined £2,000 and ordered to pay costs of £2,000.
Concrete pumping company fined for poor plant maintenance
A Hertfordshire concrete pumping company has been fined after members of the public and a police car were sprayed with concrete when a delivery pipe ruptured.
The Health and Safety Executive (HSE) prosecuted London Concrete Pumping Limited over poorly maintained equipment leading to the incident on 24 May 2011.
Westminster Magistrates’ Court heard today (10 Sept) that the equipment was being used to pump concrete to the top of a construction site opposite Wellington Barracks, near Buckingham Palace, when the pipe, part of the concrete pump’s delivery line, ruptured, spraying the liquid concrete at high-velocity over the vehicle and injured a passer-by.
The court was told that on the day of the incident, the pump operator, believing there was a blockage in the pipe released the pressure and started reverse pumping. He could not see the entire length of the equipment and was told by the foreman a pipe had burst hitting people and a vehicle with concrete. The debris caused a head injury to a woman and shattered the window of a police car 25 metres away.
The subsequent HSE investigation found the pipe had been weakened in a separate incident but had not been replaced or repaired. Magistrates were told the reason for the rupture was due to the company’s inadequate maintenance regime which had allowed the pipe to be used. HSE said this increased the possibility of other machines being operated while in a poor condition.
London Concrete Pumping Ltd specialises in pumps for the piling, groundwork and concrete frame sector. It employs around eight full time Construction Industry Scheme (CIS) subcontractors.
London Concrete Pumping Ltd of Elstree Way, Borehamwood, Hertfordshire, pleaded guilty to breaching section 3(1) of the Health and Safety at Work etc Act 1974. The company was fined £8000 and ordered to pay £31,000 in costs.
British standards relating to General Health & Safety.
Risk Management of Machinery and Work Equipment by John Glover
Norfolk manufacturer prosecuted for guarding failure
A manufacturer of steel building materials has been fined for safety failings after an employee sustained a serious hand injury on a poorly guarded machine in Norfolk.
Antonio Pires, aged 63, from Watton, was operating a power press to form sheet metal at Worldwide Steels Limited, trading as Sabrefix, in the town when the incident occurred on 18 May last year.
Norwich Magistrates’ Court heard today (10 September) that he was attempting to pull material through a gap in a guard on the machine when his right hand caught in the tooling. His index finger was completely severed and he also lost part of his ring finger, although this was surgically repaired.
Mr Pires has been unable to return to work as a result of his injuries and is still undergoing medical treatment.
An investigation by the Health and Safety Executive (HSE) identified that although guarding was in place, it was inadequate because it failed to prevent access to dangerous moving parts. In addition, the inspection also found that the company had failed to perform daily checks on the power presses as required by law or to provide systems for instruction and training for the operators of the power presses. And despite having complied with the prohibition notice served at the time of the incident, a further visit four months later identified that the company had again failed to ensure the same press involved in the accident was properly guarded.
Worldwide Steels Limited, of the Threxton Road Industrial Estate, Watton, pleaded guilty to breaching Section 2(1) of the Health and Safety at Work etc. Act 1974, two counts of Regulation 11 of the Provision and Use of Work Equipment Regulations 1998 and one count of Regulation 33 of the same regulations. The company was fined a total of £26,800 and ordered to pay £14,369 in costs as well as a £15 victim surcharge.
British standards relating to machine safety.
Risk Management of Machinery and Work Equipment by John Glover.
Care home’s safety failures led to elderly woman’s death
The owners of a West Yorkshire care home have been told to pay £183,000 in fines and costs after a frail 93 year-old widow died because established safety measures were neglected.
Mrs Elsie Beals asphyxiated after becoming trapped in the gap between her mattress and incorrectly-fitted bed safety rails at Aden Court Care Home in Huddersfield on 24 April 2010.
New Century Care Ltd of Sidcup, Kent, a private company with around 27 UK care homes,was prosecuted for a serious safety breach by the Health and Safety Executive (HSE) after it investigated the incident.
Leeds Crown Court was told today (10 September) that the company, which has some 1,700 employees, had failed to train staff at Aden Court to fit bed safety rails.
HSE found also that staff were not trained to carry out regular ‘in-use’ checks to make sure bed rails remained properly adjusted, or to carry out risk assessments for their use.
The court heard that Mrs Beals, formerly of Lepton, Huddersfield, who had been resident at Aden Court for two years, had been helped to bed the previous evening by two care assistants. She had been checked just before midnight and was due another care check two hours later.
When the care assistants entered the room in the early hours of 24 April, Mrs Beals could not immediately be seen in bed. As they went to the side near the window they saw she had become trapped in the gap created between the mattress and the safety rail. It was obvious to staff that she was dead.
New Century Care Ltd of River House, Maidstone Road, Sidcup, Kent, was fined £160,000 and ordered to pay £18,000 in costs for breaching Section 3(1) of the Health & Safety at Work etc Act 1974. The firm had pleaded guilty at a previous hearing.
After the case HSE Inspector Jacqueline Ferguson, who investigated the incident, said that New Century Care’s safety failings came despite widespread Government medical advice on the safe use of bed rails in the health and social care sector.
BIP 2072:2005 Quality of care in residential homes for the elderly
British standards relating to General Health & Safety.
Firm fined after worker hurt on unguarded machinery
A Coventry engineering firm has been fined after an employee was injured on an unguarded machine.
The employee, who has asked not to be named, was making a cut in a component on a horizontal borer at MNB Precision Ltd on 20 May 2011 but as he reached over to check the cut, his sleeve came into contact with the rotating part. He was thrown over the top and suspended upside down when his belt caught on the component.
The 56-year-old, from Coventry, suffered minor lacerations, cuts and bruising to his right arm, side and leg and lower back. He returned to work for the company after about a month.
An investigation by the Health and Safety Executive (HSE) found the borer had never been fitted with a guard, despite having been in the factory for more than 15 years.
MNB Precision Ltd, of Falkland Close, Charter Avenue Industrial Estate, Canley, Coventry, pleaded guilty to breaching Regulation 11(1) of the Provision and Use of Work Equipment Regulations 1998. Coventry magistrates today (11 September) fined the firm £18,000 and ordered it to pay full costs of £3,356.
British standards relating to machine safety.
Risk Management of Machinery and Work Equipment by John Glover
Shropshire firm fined for worker’s fall from height
A Shropshire firm, which hires out equipment for working safely at height, has been fined after a worker suffered multiple injuries when he fell from a cherry picker.
The Health and Safety Executive (HSE) prosecuted UK Platforms Ltd following the incident at the company’s depot in Halesfield, Telford.
Telford Magistrates’ Court heard how the 42-year-old man, who does not want to be named, was standing on the cherry picker’s engine canopy to repair the mechanical arm when he fell two metres, landing on a concrete floor.
He suffered a compression fracture to his skull, which caused bleeding on his brain, and fractured four vertebrae, four ribs and his collarbone.
He was in hospital for nearly two weeks and has not been able to return to work since the incident on 28 March 2011.
HSE’s investigation into the incident found UK Platforms had failed to plan or supervise the work properly and there was no protection to stop the man from falling from the machine.
UK Platforms Ltd, of Stafford Park 1, Telford, pleaded guilty to breaching Regulation 4(1) of the Work at Height Regulations 2005 and today (11 September) was fined £8,000 and ordered to pay £5,888 costs.
British standard relating to working at heights.
Stoke trailer firm in court over serious crush injuries
A Stoke firm, which designs and manufactures trailers for commercial vehicles, has been sentenced after a worker was seriously injured when he was crushed underneath a lorry when the tuck-away tail-lift closed on him.
Mark Dimmock, 28, from Stoke-on-Trent, had only been working for Don-Bur (Bodies & Trailers) Ltd for one week at the company’s site on Mossfield Road, when the incident happened on 28 June last year.
He suffered internal bleeding, two crushed vertebrae and had to undergo surgery to remove part of his bowel.
The company was prosecuted by the Health and Safety Executive (HSE) after an investigation found it had failed to formally plan the work, undertake a risk assessment, ensure suitable systems of work were in place or provide suitable training or instructions.
Stafford Magistrates’ Court heard today (12 September) that the agency worker had been working underneath the lorry to fit a tuck-away style tail-lift, used to raise heavy items onto the trailer.
The court was told that, due to a mistake in the wiring, the lift had been directly connected to the vehicle’s motor. This meant that when other employees turned on a portable power supply to fit electrical components to the vehicle, the lift began to close in on the worker.
Mr Dimmock has been able to return to work on short temporary contracts following the incident but can only perform light duties.
He is struggling to go back to his normal job as a fitter in the oil refinery business, due to the work being physically demanding, and is always likely to suffer some degree of pain and difficulty with his back.
Don-Bur (Bodies & Trailers) Ltd, of Mossfield Road, Stoke-on-Trent, pleaded guilty to breaching Sections 2(1) and 3(1) of the Health and Safety at Work etc Act 1974 by failing to ensure the safety of workers. The company was fined £14,000 and ordered to pay costs of £4,233.
British standards relating to General Health & Safety.
Firm fined for worker’s roof fall at Brecon activity centre
A Bridgend firm has been sentenced for safety failings after a teenage worker plunged nearly six metres through a fragile roof at a children’s activity centre.
Joshua Harry, 18, from Swansea, escaped with severe bruising to his back following the incident at Cantref Adventure Farm, Brecon, on 28 February 2012. He was one of a team of employees of WDS Green Energy Ltd installing solar panels at the centre.
Brecon Magistrates’ Court was told yesterday (12 Sept) that an investigation by the Health and Safety Executive (HSE) revealed that the company had not carried out adequate planning for the work and had failed to provide any fall protection.
HSE found there were no safety measures on site on the day, such as crawler boards, netting or harnesses, which could have prevented a fall.
WDS Green Energy Ltd of Court Road, Bridgend pleaded guilty to breaching Section 2(1) of the Health and Safety at Work Act 1974 and was fined £12,000 and ordered to pay £4,181 in costs.
British standard relating to working at heights.
Hull firm in court over worker’s injury
A Hull company has been fined for safety breaches after a worker suffered severe injuries to his hand when it was trapped in a badly-guarded laminating machine.
Agency worker Steven Spencer, 36, had his left hand drawn into the rollers at Excel Laminating Ltd, on Leads Road, as he was feeding paper through the machine. His little and ring fingers were left hanging off and his middle finger was lacerated down its entire length.
Mr Spencer, of Spring Bank West, Hull, had only worked at the firm for three weeks prior to the incident on 29 January 2010. He was in hospital for four days and needed two operations. He still suffers pain and has undergone physiotherapy on his fingers and hand.
Hull Magistrates’ Court heard today (13 Sept) that Mr Spencer’s hand was trapped between a laminating roller and a board as he was setting up the machine.
An investigation by the Health and Safety Executive (HSE) found the guarding of the laminating rollers was inadequate and didn’t prevent access to the crush hazard posed by the roller pairs, or the roller and plasterboard.
Excel Laminating Ltd of Geneva Way Business Park admitted breaching Regulation 3(1) of the Management of Health and Safety at Work Regulations and a second offence under Regulation 11(1) of the Provision and Use of Work Equipment Regulations. The company was fined a total of £2,000 and ordered to pay £5,451 in costs.
British standards relating to machine safety.
Haulage firm fined after worker severely injured
An Aberdeenshire haulage firm has been fined after a driver was severely injured when he was knocked to the ground and run over by a tractor unit of a Heavy Goods Vehicle.
Ian Mackie, 43, from Turriff, was one of a team of drivers who worked for R & J Milne Limited operating out of its haulage yard in Norwood, Ardmiddle, Turriff.
As part of their duties, drivers were regularly required to clean company vehicles in a “wash bay” area. On 12 November 2010, Mr Mackie was one of five drivers who had cleaned a tractor unit. He was talking to a colleague near the front of the vehicle, when the driver of that tractor unit climbed into his cab, started the vehicle and began to pull out of the wash bay.
As the vehicle turned left out of the wash bay, it struck Mr Mackie, who fell into his colleague. Both men were knocked to the ground and one of the front wheels of the tractor unit drove over Mr Mackie’s right foot and leg.
Another driver raised the alarm and the tractor unit was reversed off Mr Mackie. He suffered severe injuries, including the removal of the soft tissue of his leg, an open wound and broken bones in his foot, a fractured pelvis and cracked ribs.
Mr Mackie was in hospital for 13 weeks and had to have a metal plate inserted into his pelvis and a skin graft on his leg. He returned to work in April 2011 but has permanent scars along the length of his leg and to his hip and still suffers bad circulation, numbness and pain.
The second employee who was knocked over during the incident escaped physical injury.
Banff Sheriff Court heard today (13 September) that an investigation into the incident by the Health and Safety Executive (HSE) found that there was no organised system to control vehicle movements within the yard around the wash bay area to segregate pedestrians from moving vehicles.
There was a ‘Health and Safety Manual’, prepared by a company of external consultants, which purported to deal with all health and safety issues and included various entries within the document that purported to be risk assessments dealing with transport issues. These largely took the form of various high-level statements which did not in any way amount to a suitable and sufficient assessment of the risks involved in manoeuvring vehicles around the site.
R & J Milne Limited, of Carden Place, Aberdeen, was fined £20,000 after pleading guilty to breaching Section 2(1) of the Health and Safety at Work etc Act 1974.
Occupational Health & Safety 18000 Series
Firm fined after worker lost finger in recycling machinery
A worker lost a finger when it was crushed in machinery as safety procedures were ignored at a recycling centre in Wales.
GLJ Recycling Ltd appeared before Caerphilly Magistrates Court in a prosecution brought by the Health and Safety Executive and were fined £6,000 and ordered to pay £5,000 in costs for breaching the Health & Safety at Work Act 1974.
The court heard that GLJ employee, Rhys Dee, of Treowen, Caerphilly who was 19 years old at the time, was working on a baling machine at Oakdale on 14 April, 2011.
He was helping to crush domestic copper boilers in the machine by standing in front of it to pick up pieces of copper and feed them into the baler to speed-up the process while a colleague operated the machine.
However, industry guidance states that only one person should operate the machine from behind the guard to prevent injury.
HSE Inspector, Dean Baker, speaking after the hearing, said: “This serious accident could have resulted in much more severe injuries for Mr Dee.
“GLJ Recycling Ltd were aware of the guidance but encouraged the use of the machine with two people.”
GLJ Recycling Ltd of Fern Close, Penyfan Industrial Estate, Crumlin pleaded guilty to a breach of Section 2(1) of the Health and Safety at Work Act 1974.
British standards relating to machine safety.
Suspended jail term for director of Kent firm who ignored asbestos safety
The director of a Bromley firm has given a suspended jail sentence after removing asbestos without a licence and deceiving the householders by providing a doctored air test saying the room was safe to re-enter.
The Health and Safety Executive (HSE) investigated the circumstances of the incident and brought the prosecution against Mr Peter Horrey under the Control of Asbestos Regulations 2006.
Southwark Crown Court was told today (13 Sept) that Absolute Asbestos Ltd was hired to take out all the asbestos insulation from the boiler room of a home in Camden. Mr Horrey, the sole director of the firm, did the work over eleven days in July last year.
As well as being unlicensed to remove asbestos, Mr Horrey failed to effectively clean and decontaminate the area. He left visible fibres that were a danger to the householders and to the plumbers, who were due to start work in the boiler room.
After he was finished, an analyst who went to take an air test provided him with a certificate clearly showing the site had failed. However, Mr Horrey provided a doctored report to the owners indicating it had passed the test and was safe for them to re-enter, which they did.
Mr Horrey, of Jackson Road, Bromley, Kent, had pleaded guilty at an earlier hearing to three breaches of the asbestos regulations between 18 and 29 July 2011 at Greencroft Gardens, NW6. He was given six months’ prison sentence on each charge, to run concurrently and suspended for two years; 300 hours’ unpaid community service; given an electronic curfew between 9pm and 6am for three months; ordered to pay £11,340 to the affected Residents’ Association in Camden and ordered to pay £10,160 costs.
Occupational Health & Safety 18000 Series
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