Welcome to HSE prosecutions in brief. An overview of this weeks prosecutions by the HSE.
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Recycling firm fined after worker crushed to death
An Ystrad Mynach recycling firm has been prosecuted by the Health and Safety Executive (HSE) after a yard foreman was crushed to death.
56 year-old Norman Mayne from Newport died after he became trapped between a container and a skip at Amber Services Ltd’s recycling yard at Dyffryn Business Park on 25 June 2008.
Cardiff Crown Court heard that Mr Mayne was carrying out one of his regular duties of locating suitable skips, when he became trapped between a stationary skip and a container that a colleague was loading onto a vehicle that had been reversed in to the yard.
An investigation by the HSE found that the company had failed to ensure the safety of its employees because an effective system to permit the safe movement of pedestrians and vehicles was not in place.
HSE inspector Clare Owen said:
“The death of Mr Mayne could have been prevented if a few simple measures had been put in place.
“There was no effective system for managing vehicle and pedestrian movements on site, and skip storage was disorganised. If a clearly defined system to control vehicles was in place and the site was kept in an orderly condition, the likelihood of such an incident occurring would be dramatically reduced. It is particularly important, wherever a driver has no view of his ‘blind spot’ during reversing and loading and unloading operations, that the activity is managed and controlled.”
Amber Engineering Limited (trading as Amber Services), of the Recycling Centre Dyffryn Business Park, Ystrad Mynach, Hengoed, pleaded guilty to breaching Section 2 (1) of the Health and Safety at Work etc Act 1974.
The company was fined £112,000 and ordered to pay costs of £36,000.
Dumper truck breaks worker’s foot
A Northamptonshire construction company has been fined after a six-tonne dumper truck ran over a worker’s foot.
Self-employed ground worker Ross Smith, 23, from March in Cambridgeshire, was helping to build a roadway at a construction site on Wolsey Way, Lincoln, on 11 March 2011 when the incident happened.
During the Health and Safety Executive (HSE) prosecution of principal contractor Maypine Construction Ltd, Lincoln Magistrates’ Court heard that Mr Smith and a second worker were filling the roadway with stone, in preparation for surfacing.
The stone was loaded on to the dumper truck at the top of the site which was then driven to an area being filled and compacted by Mr Smith, who was operating a compacting machine.
Mr Smith saw the front-loaded truck approaching the work area and began to move his machine away, but the court was told the dumper truck driver was concentrating on avoiding other obstacles and collided with Mr Smith, driving over his foot.
Mr Smith suffered four broken bones in his right foot.
The HSE investigation found Maypine Construction Ltd had failed to provide a suitable traffic route around the site, failed to manage and monitor construction activity and failed to carry out a suitable risk assessment.
The company, of Enterprise Road, Raunds, Northamptonshire, pleaded guilty to breaching Regulation 22(1)(a) of the Construction (Design and Management) Regulations 2007, and Regulation 3(1)(b) of the Management of Health and Safety at Work Regulations 1999.
Today the firm was fined £10,000 and ordered to pay £5,749 costs.
Comments from the HSE through the link.
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Employer fined after electrician injures back in fall
An apprentice electrician sustained serious back injuries after falling through a ceiling while working in the loft space of a Swindon youth centre.
Richard O’Connor’s employer Roberts and Prowse (Swindon) Ltd failed to carry out a specific risk assessment for the work, and failed to ensure adequate measures were put in place to reduce the risk of a fall.
The electrical and mechanical contractors appeared before Swindon Magistrates today (14 May) in a prosecution by the Health and Safety Executive (HSE).
The court heard that Mr O’Connor, from Nythe, was 18-years-old at the time of the incident on 3 February 2010. He was undertaking electrical installation work at The Platform Youth Centre, on Farringdon Road, when he stumbled from a narrow timber walkway and fell onto an exposed plasterboard ceiling that gave way under his weight.
He managed to grab hold of a timber joist, but after a few seconds this also gave way and he fell five-and-a-half metres onto the floor below.
The apprentice sustained three fractures to his vertebrae as well as cuts and bruising. His injuries meant he was unable to work for two months.
Roberts and Prouse (Swindon) Ltd, of Barnfield Crescent, Exeter pleaded guilty to a breach of Section 2(1) of the Health and Safety at Work Act 1974 in relation to the fall. The company was fined £5,000 and ordered to pay £5,156 in costs.
Comments from the HSE through the link.
Aberdeenshire roofing boss fined after worker seriously injured in fall
An Aberdeenshire roofing boss has been fined after one of his workers was seriously injured when he fell five metres from the edge of a flat roof.
Alister McNeilly, 26, worked for Brian George Mackie, who traded as Donside Slating which specialises in roofing work.
Aberdeen Sheriff Court heard that on 10 November 2010, Mr McNeilly was working with a colleague to fix lead onto the flat roof area of a house in Strathdon.
Mr McNeilly was throwing lead cut-offs onto the ground while standing on the flat roof when he either slipped or inadvertently stepped off the edge. He lost his balance and fell five metres to the ground, landing on his right side near a skip.
His right hip ball joint was severed from his thigh bone and a metal plate and four pins had to be inserted. He was in hospital for four days and was off work for 16 weeks. He has largely made a full recovery but still experiences pain in his hip.
Following the incident, an investigation by the Health and Safety Executive (HSE) found that no scaffold platform with guard-rails and toe-boards or any other form of fall prevention equipment were in place to prevent falls either from the edges of the flat roof or at the edge of the lower porch roof.
The investigation also revealed that Mr Mackie had not been to the site that morning or in the three or four days prior to the incident and had not given any specific instructions about how to do the work.
At Aberdeen Sheriff Court today, Brian George Mackie, 43, of Auld Kirk, Rough Park, Strathdon, was fined £15,000 after pleading guilty to breaching Regulation 4 of The Work at Height Regulations 2005.
Comments from the HSE through the link.
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Fine for West Yorkshire firm after printer crushed to death
A retail marketing company has been ordered to pay £118,500 in fines and costs for serious safety failings after a worker at its Wakefield printing site was crushed to death.
Bezier Ltd., which employs some 700 people across nine UK sites, failed to heed warnings that could have saved the life of 49-year-old William Aveyard.
Mr Aveyard, of Shipley, Bradford, was trapped in a hand-fed press at the print site in Balne Lane, Wakefield, on 8 May 2008 and pronounced dead at the scene.
Leeds Crown Court heard (15 May) he was using the press to cut out signs printed on corrugated card. It is thought he had climbed onto a moveable platen to remove waste following a misfeed. Mr Aveyard received fatal injuries when the platen activated crushing him against the fixed press.
An investigation by the Health and Safety Executive (HSE) found that Bezier failed to act on the knowledge they had of a fatal incident at a separate company a year earlier when a worker died after being crushed between the fixed and moveable parts of a similar hand-fed platen press.
Although Mr Aveyard was experienced in the print industry, Bezier had failed to ensure he was adequately trained to use the machine. In addition there was no written safe system of work for the machine operators to access the press and deal with misfeeds.
After the hearing HSE Inspector Andy Denison said:
“The sudden – and avoidable – death of Mr Aveyard was a devastating blow for his family.
“Bezier did not act on the knowledge they had of a similar incident. The need for a safe system of work was identified at a Bezier meeting in May 2007. In February 2008, an external health and safety consultant prepared a risk assessment and an action plan but again, the company failed to act.
“Accessing the machine to retrieve misfeeds created a serious and foreseeable risk of death or serious injury. Bezier were fully aware of those risks before this incident and failed to implement the required controls.
Bezier Ltd, a specialist in point-of-sale marketing, of Silkwood Park, Wakefield, pleaded guilty at an earlier hearing to breaching Section 2(1) of the Health and Safety at Work etc Act 1974. They were fined £80,000 with £38,501.83 in costs.
Norfolk gas installer may face prison after gas explosion
A Norwich gas installer has received an eight-month suspended prison sentence and 250 hours of unpaid community service after his inadequate work on domestic gas appliances put the lives of a mother and daughter at risk in their own home.
James Hampson, 34, of Knowland Grove, Norwich, installed a new gas boiler and associated pipework at Lynne Brown’s home on Chapel Road in Wrentham, Suffolk, on 22 December 2010. On the morning of 24 December, Mrs Brown switched on an electric kettle in her kitchen and her home exploded, causing extensive burns to her and her daughter Lucy Green.
A Health and Safety Executive (HSE) investigation found that the joint between the emergency control valve on the boiler and the flexible pipe upstream of the meter was not tightened properly and as a result was leaking gas. The gas meter, as well as the pipework leading from it, was also inadequately secured.
The gas leaked throughout the house and was ignited when Mrs Brown switched on the kettle. As well as causing severe injuries to her and her daughter, the resulting fire and explosion caused major structural damage to their home.
Ipswich Crown Court was told today that Mr Hampson had failed to ensure that the work he had carried out on the property was properly completed, therefore putting lives at risk.
Mrs Brown said: “The accident has had a devastating effect on our lives in so many ways but we are trying to remain positive about the future.”
After the hearing, HSE Inspector Malcolm Crowther said:
“Working with gas appliances is specialised and potentially very dangerous. In this case, Mr Hampson’s unsafe work cost a mother and daughter their health and their home. It could have cost them their lives.
“Mr Hampson was qualified to do the work but on this occasion he failed to ensure that all gas connections were sufficiently tight, which was a serious mistake.
“HSE will not hesitate to prosecute those who put lives at risk in this way.”
Mr Hampson, who was self-employed and trading as Ryan Services at the time, admitted breaching Regulations 6(1) and 7(1) of the Gas Safety (Installation & Use) Regulations 1998 and was ordered to pay £10,000 costs in addition to his suspended prison sentence and hours of unpaid community service. His suspended prison sentence will remain active for two years.
Photo through the link.
‘Unsafe’ Swindon equipment hire company fined
A Swindon-based equipment hire company has been fined for continuing unsafe working practices and ignoring safety warnings from the Health and Safety Executive (HSE).
Chippenham Magistrates Court heard today (15 May) that HSE served four Improvement Notices on Rapid Hire (Swindon) Ltd on 12 October 2011 for failing to provide adequate training for operators or forklift trucks and telehandlers, and for failing to provide proper inspections for equipment that was available for hire.
The purpose of the Notices was to protect employees and customers from potential injury. Yet when a HSE inspector returned to the company three months later to check compliance, he discovered that dangerous practices were continuing and three of the Notices had been ignored.
Rapid Hire, of 14 Devizes Road, Swindon, SN1 4BH, was found guilty of three separate breaches of Section 33(1)(g) of the Health and Safety at Work etc Act 1974 for failing to comply with the notices. The company was fined a total of £800 and ordered to pay £1,215.95 in costs.
Speaking after the prosecution, HSE inspector Ian Whittles said:
“Rapid Hire blatantly ignored warnings and the Improvement Notices served to them, neglecting its duty of care to its employees and customers.
“Even though there were no reported incidents, serious safety breaches continued and these could easily have resulted in serious injury.”
Bradford worker injured after just weeks in job
A Bradford textile firm has been sentenced for safety failures after a worker was left with a long-term hand injury after only a month in the job.
The 30 year-old employee joined Whitaker Fibres Ltd, trading as Howarth Scouring Company, in March 2011 as a wool sorter, a job that did not involve any working with machinery.
The following month, on 23 April, he was told to clean debris from the trays of a machine that untangles woollen fibres – despite the fact he had no training or experience for handling machines at the factory.
As he attempted to carry out the task, his hand was dragged into the unguarded machine and became stuck. His glove was shredded and he started to lose feeling in his hand, before eventually managing to pull it free.
The worker’s hand was badly cut leaving him with scarring from the tip of his right index finger to mid-forearm; tendon, nerve and vein damage resulting in the loss of movement to two fingers; and loss of webbing between two fingers.
Bradford Magistrates’ Court heard today (16 May) the incident was investigated by the Health and Safety Executive (HSE) and a prosecution brought against Whitaker Fibres Ltd for a serious breach of the Health and Safety at Work Act.
Whitaker Fibres Ltd of Cashmere Works, Birksland Street, Bradford, pleaded guilty to breaching Section 2(1) of the Health and Safety at Work etc Act 1974. They were fined £5,000 and ordered to pay £2,897.35 in costs.
Read full story here.
Adhesive firm fined after worker loses part of thumb
An adhesive tape manufacturer has been prosecuted after a 19-year-old agency worker severed his thumb in machinery at a factory in Wellingborough.
The worker, who has asked not to be named, had only been working at Latrave Ltd for three weeks when the incident happened on 25 August 2010.
He was being trained to fix a known problem on a running printing press when his left hand was pulled in between two rollers. He was airlifted to the specialist hand injury unit at Royal Derby Hospital where he had part of his thumb amputated.
He was in hospital for five days and off work for nearly seven months. He still requires physiotherapy and the injury has stopped him pursuing many of his hobbies, including boxing and repairing and riding bicycles.
A Health and Safety Executive (HSE) investigation into the incident found the machine’s guard was missing and that the worker was being trained in an unsafe way.
Today, Wellingborough magistrates found Latrave Ltd, of Park Farm Industrial Estate, Wellingborough, Northamptonshire, guilty of breaching Section 3(1) of the Health and Safety at Work etc Act 1974. The firm was fined £8,000 and ordered to pay full costs of £14,736.
Comments from the HSE through the link.
Builder fined £15,000 after carbon monoxide death
At Haddington Sheriff Court today, John Martin Riva (DOB 21/07/62) was fined £15,000 after pleading guilty to a contravention of Sections 3 and 33 (1) of the Health and Safety at Work Act 1974.
Having been contracted to rebuild the chimney on a property in Gifford between 8 August 2009 and 26 October 2009, Riva failed to ensure that it was fully cleared of any debris and masonry materials that had fallen in. The chimney was thus left blocked when the fire in the living room of the house was brought into use by the Ross family who lived there.
The blockage impeded the combustion process of the solid fuel fireplace in the living room, and caused the fumes from the fireplace to build up, causing an accumulation of carbon monoxide to which the three occupants of the house were exposed
Mrs Ceridwen Ross, aged 60 years, died on 26 October 2009 as a result of the exposure.
Following the case, Elaine Taylor, Head of the COPFS Health and Safety Division, said:
“This case demonstrates yet again the importance of employers and contractors being aware of the risks not only to their own employees, but to all of those who may be affected by the work they carry out.
“If Mr Riva had taken the simple steps necessary to identify the risks associated with his work and acted upon them, Mrs Ross would not have lost her life in an entirely avoidable incident.
“Today our thoughts are with her family.”
HSE Inspector Gillian McLean said:
“This was a tragic incident which could easily have been prevented if the accused had carried out simple and well-established tests to ensure the chimney was free from obstruction following building work he had carried out.
“These are standard and recognised tests well known to the building industry and we hope this successful prosecution will draw attention to these tests to ensure workers carry them out in the future in order to avoid similar devastating consequences.”
Fines for ‘unsafe’ Croydon construction company
A Croydon-based construction company has been fined for continuing unsafe working practices at a site in Lewisham despite repeated warnings.
Anza Ltd was prosecuted by the Health and Safety Executive (HSE) after inspectors found serious safety issues during two visits to a construction site on Honor Oak Road, Forest Hill in 2009.
Westminster Magistrates Court heard yesterday (16 May) that the firm received advice from HSE and was served with a Prohibition Notice about managing the risk of falls on 18 May 2009. Anza Ltd was also issued with an Improvement Notice on 27 May 2009 requiring welfare facilities to be provided on the site.
The site was visited again on 1 July 2009 by HSE Inspectors, who found that there were insufficient measures in place to prevent workers who were using stairs to access the lower level of the site from falls. A second Prohibition Notice was served for fall prevention.
The HSE investigation found that the advice given to Anza Ltd regarding its duty of care to site workers had also been ignored, and they had failed to comply with the requirements of the Improvement Notice served on the 27 May 2009.
Anza Ltd, of Wydehurst Road, Croydon, was found guilty in absentia of single breaches of the Health and Safety at Work etc Act 1974, the Work at Height Regulations 2005 and the Construction (Design and Management) Regulations 2007 for its failings – three breaches in total. The company, now in liquidation, was fined £15,000 and ordered to pay full costs of £6,752.
Comments from the HSE through the link.
Grimsby firm fined after worker’s warehouse death
A Grimsby haulage company has been sentenced for safety failings after a worker was killed when a row of steel coils ‘collapsed like dominos’ trapping him under their five-tonne weight.
The Health and Safety Executive (HSE) prosecuted ABC (Grimsby) Ltd after Alan Burr, a warehouseman and forklift truck driver, was fatally crushed when he tried to repair some torn packaging on a roll of coil at the firm’s warehouse in Henderson Quay, Immingham Docks, on 27 January 2010.
Grimsby Crown Court heard that Mr Burr, a long-serving employee at the company, had been stacking the narrow banded coils on rolls in batches of four or five, with a gap between each coil. Each coil measured five feet in diameter and weighed around one tonne.
As he was standing between two of the rolls to repair the damaged wrapping, one of them toppled, causing a domino effect to the stack. The 52-year-old, from East Halton, Immingham, was trapped under the weight and was pronounced dead at the scene.
The investigation found that the method used by Mr Burr to store the coils was a common one and others had stored them in a similar way. No one from the company had instructed the employees not to do this.
ABC (Grimsby) Ltd of Lancaster Approach, North Killingholme, Immingham, pleaded guilty to two charges of breaching the Health and Safety at Work etc Act 1974. The company was fined a total of £25,000 and ordered to pay £20,000 costs.
Read full story here.
Waste company prosecuted after worker loses arm
A waste management and recycling company has been fined for safety failings after a worker lost most of his arm on an unguarded conveyor system at a Kent quarry.
Agency employee Vladislavs Golovacs, 45, from Gravesend, was attempting to clear a blockage at Pinden Quarry, in Longfield, near Dartford, when the incident occurred on 20 December 2010.
Dartford Magistrates heard yesterday (17 May) that a conveyor belt used to transfer waste into a sorting shed was juddering and virbrating, making sorting difficult, after a driving roller was blocked by stones.
The Latvian national, contracted to work for Pinden Limited, which owns the quarry, should have stopped the machine before removing the debris. Instead he removed the stones with the power still running and his left arm became trapped and was torn with extreme force.
It was ripped from his body from between his shoulder and elbow – leaving just a quarter of the limb intact. Mr Golovacs was airlifted to hospital for an emergency operation, but surgeons were unable to reattach his arm. He has been unable to return to work since.
The Health and Safety Executive (HSE) investigated the incident and found there was no guarding in place to prevent access to dangerous moving parts on the conveyor. Mr Golovacs had also received no training on how to safely clear blockages.
Pinden Limited, registered to Waldens Depot, Waldens Road, Orpington, Kent, pleaded guilty to breaching Section 2(1) of the Health and Safety at Work etc. Act 1974 for these failings. The company was fined £10,000 and ordered to pay £11,506 in costs.
Comments from the HSE through the link.
Farm owner fined after overlooking legal requirements
The owner of a Bedfordshire farm has been prosecuted for failing to complete legally required documentation in relation to safe working near overhead power cables.
Bedford Magistrates’ Court heard yesterday (17 May) that on 23 June 2010 an employee of Davison & Co (Barford) Ltd, the owners of College Farm in Great Barford, was tipping compost from a lorry trailer into a field when the trailer came into contact with a live 33kV power line overhead.
No-one was injured, but a subsequent investigation by the Health and Safety Executive (HSE) found the company had neglected to complete essential, legal documentation relating to the line. This is required to inform both employees and regulators of the existence of the hazard so that appropriate steps and controls can be put in place to keep workers safe.
Davison & Co (Barford) Ltd, of College Farm, Great Barford admitted breaching Regulation 3(1) of the Management of Health and Safety at Work Regulations 1999 in relation to the offence, and was fined £1,500 and ordered to pay £500 in costs.
The company was found not guilty of breaching Regulation 4(3) of the Electricity at Work Regulations 1989 in connection to the tipper lorry incident.
Comments from the HSE through the link.
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