Welcome to HSE prosecutions in brief. An overview of this weeks prosecutions by the HSE.
Solihull man fined for carrying out illegal gas work
A Solihull man has been prosecuted by the Health and Safety Executive (HSE) for carrying out gas work at an elderly widow’s home without being registered to do so.
Mr David Jonathon Jackson pleaded guilty to breaching Regulation 3(3) and Regulation 3(7) of the Gas Safety (Installation and Use) Regulations 1998 and was fined £400 and ordered to pay £500 costs.
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Hazardous materials workers denied hot water by employer
Employees at a North Devon decorating supplies firm were not provided with hot water to wash their hands for years, despite being at risk of contracting the skin condition dermatitis.
Mike Wye and Associates Ltd, who produce natural building and decorating products, failed to provide hot water over a period of four years despite workers using hydrated lime for the manufacture of lime putty. Hydrated lime is a well-known irritant to both skin and eyes and can cause dermatitis.
Mike Wye and Associates Ltd of The Strand, Barnstaple, pleaded guilty to three contraventions of the Workplace (Health, Safety and Welfare) Regulations 1992 and were fined a total of £3,500 with £588 costs.
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Sentence after trainee’s forklift fall
A trainee electrician suffered severe injuries when a metal cage he was using fell 20ft from the fork lift truck supporting it.
Tom Davis, 18, of Looseleigh, Plymouth, suffered a fractured pelvis in the incident which happened in August 2009 while Mr Davis and his colleague were employed by Plymouth based CL Electrical Solutions Ltd.
The trainees were working at the premises of HT Gardner Distribution Ltd in Plympton when instructed to change a number of lightbulbs on the warehouse ceiling.
Both firms were prosecuted by HSE. At a hearing at Plymouth Magistrates Court in April, CL Electrical Solutions Ltd pleaded guilty to a breach of Section 2 (1) of the Health and Safety at Work Act 1974 and H T Gardner pleaded guilty to a breach of Section 3 (1) of the Health and Safety at Work Act 1974. The Magistrates’ committed the defendants to crown court for sentencing after stating that there had been “a catalogue of breaches on the part of individuals in both Defendant companies” and having taking on board the serious injuries sustained by Tom Davis.
HT Gardner Distribution Ltd was fined a total of £20,000 and ordered to pay costs of £11,300 and CL Electrical was fined a total of £7,000 with £5,000 costs.
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Southport shopfitter’s finger severed in rotating saw
A Southport-based shopfitting firm has been sentenced after one of its employees’ fingers was severed in a rotating saw.
Mentha and Halsall Shopfitters Ltd pleaded guilty to breaching Regulation 8(1) of the Provision and Use of Work Equipment Regulations 1998 by failing to provide adequate instructions for using the saw. It was fined £3,000 and ordered to pay £3,498 in prosecution costs on 14 June 2011.
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Appliance recycling firm fined after worker injured
A worker was injured by a falling stack of cookers and washing machines at one of the UK’s largest electrical equipment recycle firms.
Environcom England Ltd, of Hardman Street, Spinningfields, Manchester, pleaded guilty to two counts of breaching 3(1) of the Health and Safety at Work etc Act 1974. They were today fined £7,000 for the offence on 15 September and £10,000 for the further offence on 3 December. The firm was also ordered to pay full costs of £5,915.20p.
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Engineering company sentenced over worker’s death
An engineering company has been fined £100,000 after a worker was crushed to death at a factory near Pontypridd.
The Health and Safety Executive (HSE) prosecuted Melloy Limited after shift co-ordinator Paul Thorngate, 44, was crushed by a falling crate of aluminium car parts, while working overtime at the company’s Treforest Industrial Estate premises.
Melloy Ltd of Treforest Industrial Estate in Pontypridd, pleaded guilty to breaching Regulation 9(2)(b) of the Lifting Operations and Lifting Equipment Regulations 1998, Regulation 3(1) of the Management of Health and Safety at Work Regulations 1999 and Section 2(1) of the Health and Safety at Work etc. Act 1974.
The company was fined £100,000 and ordered to pay costs of £75,000.
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Blackburn truck firm sentenced over fall injuries
A Blackburn truck firm has been sentenced after one of its employees was badly injured when he fell from the roof of a lorry cab.
JDS Trucks Ltd pleaded guilty to two breaches of the Work at Height Regulations 2005 and one breach of the Management of Health and Safety at Work Regulations 1999.
The company, of Navigation Garage, Forrest Street, Blackburn, was fined £9,900 and ordered to pay £4,613 towards the cost of the prosecution on 15 June 2011.
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Worcestershire firms fined after man’s fingers severed
Two Bromsgrove firms have been fined after an employee had a thumb, index finger and most of his middle finger severed in machinery.
Redditch Magistrates’ Court heard how on 29 October 2008, an employee of Non-Flam (Sawdust) Co Ltd was instructed to work for a neighbouring firm KSR (UK) Ltd. Both companies manufacture products for absorbing chemical and oil spillages and leaks.
Non-Flam (Sawdust) Co Ltd pleaded guilty to breaching Section 2 (1) of the Health and Safety at Work etc Act 1974. The company was fined £1,000 and ordered to pay £8,000 costs.
KSR (UK) Ltd pleaded guilty to breaching Regulation 11 of the Provision and Use of Work Equipment Regulations 1998. The company was fined £3,000 and ordered to pay £8,000 costs.
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Demolition company fined for failing to meet basic gas and electricity safety regulations
A demolition company has been fined following a dangerous occurrence involving the release of over half a tonne of gas. It also carried out work while electricity supplies to the buildings undergoing demolition remained live.
Kane Haulage Ltd of St Albans, Hertfordshire pleaded guilty to breaching Section 3(1) of the Health and Safety at Work etc Act 1974. It was fined a total of £11,700 and ordered to pay costs of £6,936.50
Read full stroy here.
Company fined after gas cylinder explosion kills worker
An Edgware gas company has been fined after an explosion killed a worker and severely injured a member of the public.
Oak Farm Gas Company Ltd, trading as Mr Fizz, of Trinominis House, 125 -129 High Street, Edgware, Harrow pleaded guilty to breaching section 3(1) of the Health and Safety at Work etc Act 1974 and regulations 4(3) and 8(1) of the Provision and Use of Work Equipment Regulations 1998. The company was fined £90,000 and ordered to pay costs of £50,000.
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