Welcome to HSE prosecutions in brief. A selection of the latest prosecutions by the HSE. Where possible, links are provided to relevant British Standards and guidance.
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Southampton worker pays price for firm’s safety failings
A Romsey brick-making firm has been prosecuted after one of its employees suffered crush injuries to his leg in a poorly-guarded machine.
Mr Nikoloz Demetrashvili, 42, was in hospital for three weeks with a multiple fracture of his right leg after the incident at Michelmersh Brick and Tile Company Ltd on 12 October last year.
The Health and Safety Executive (HSE) investigated the incident and found that flawed protective measures meant the worker was able to access dangerous parts of a brick-making machine while it was still ‘live’.
Southampton Magistrates heard today (22 August) that Mr Demetrashvili, from Southampton, had been trying to free a blockage caused when two trays dropped on a brick mould rather than one.
In an attempt to clear it, he followed work instructions and disabled pressure sensitive mats designed to prevent access to the machine as he needed power running to free the trapped tray. Although the power was on, the machine was not in production mode but sensors were still active.
Mr Demetrashvili then climbed on the machine to reach the tray, as he had done on previous occasions to free blockages. As he leant over the turntable and pulled the tray, a sensor activated and the turntable rotated, crushing his leg and trapping him in the machine.
After the incident, HSE served an Improvement Notice on Michelmersh Brick and Tile Co Ltd requiring further safeguarding of the machine. It complied by removing a switch that allowed the pressure mat to be over-ridden, meaning it is no longer possible for operators to access the machinery whilst there is power running to it.
Michelmersh Brick and Tile Company Ltd of Hillview Road, Michelmersh, Romsey, pleaded guilty to breaching Regulation 3(1) of the Management of Health and Safety at Work Regulations 1999 and Regulation 11(1) of the Provision and Use of Work Equipment Regulations 1998. It was fined a total of £15,000 and ordered to pay £4,945 in costs.
Comments from the HSE through the link.
British standards relating to machine safety
Firms fined for roof fall
A construction firm and a roofing company have been fined for their part in a fall at a Lincoln retail park.
Taylor Pearson Construction Limited was the principal contractor building a new retail unit at The Carlton Centre on Outer Circle Road. The company sub-contracted roof cladding work to Roofwise (Bourne) Limited, which in turn engaged a sub-contract labour team of its own.
On 24 May 2011, the cladding team were installing gutter sections along one side of the roof. As one of the team, a 53-year-old self-employed roofer from Sheffield, who has asked not to be named, attempted to fix the last section of gutter he fell, striking the handrail of a scissor lift before hitting the ground more than eight metres below.
He suffered a fractured pelvis, shattered heel and broken thumb. He spent several weeks in hospital and had to have several metal plates inserted to his fractures.
An investigation by the Health and Safety Executive (HSE) found that roof edge protection and safety netting had been installed to the majority of the roof, but an indented corner had been left unprotected. It was in this area that the fall occurred.
After today’s hearing (22 August) at Lincoln Magistrates’ Court, HSE inspector Tony Mitchell said:
“This incident was wholly preventable. Both defendants clearly identified the risk of a fall and the precautions that were needed, but had not fully followed this through on site. Several opportunities to identify and remedy this deficiency had been missed.
“The injured worker is lucky to be alive. There is no room for complacency when it comes to work at height.”
Taylor Pearson Construction Limited, of Church Road, Martin Dales, Woodhall Spa, pleaded guilty to breaching Regulation 22(1)(a) of the Construction (Design and Management) Regulations 2007 in relation to the fall. The firm was fined £5,000 and ordered to pay costs of £1,710.
Roofwise (Bourne) Limited of North Street, Bourne, pleaded guilty to breaching Regulation 4(1)(c) of the Work at Height Regulations 2005, and was fined £3,000 with £1,710 in costs.
British standard relating to working at heights
Worker’s death leads to fines
Two companies have been fined after a man was killed when he drove a specialist machine into an unprotected pit in a factory floor.
Martin McMenemy, 52, of Grimsby, was working for O. Turner Insulation Ltd, also of Grimsby, on the construction of a food processing plant in Ratby Lane, Leicester, on 12 April 2008.
He was using a scissor lift, an extendable platform, to install wall and ceiling panels when he drove it unwittingly toward and into the shallow uncovered recess. The vehicle overturned and Mr McMenemy was thrown out of it. He died later in hospital of head injuries.
A Health and Safety Executive (HSE) investigation found that O. Turner Insulation Ltd and principal contractor Clegg Food Projects Ltd, of Nottingham, had failed to take simple precautions to cover the hole.
Leicester Crown Court heard today (24 August 2012) the incident could have been prevented had the hole been covered with a metal plate or cordoned off.
O. Turner Insulation Ltd, of Estate Road No 4, South Humberside Industrial Estate, Grimsby, pleaded guilty to breaching Regulations 13(2) and 37(6) of the Construction (Design and Management) Regulations 2007 and was fined £22,500 with £12,806 costs.
Clegg Food Projects Ltd, of High Pavement, Nottingham, admitted breaching Regulations 22(1)(a) and 37(6) of the same Regulations and was fined £22,500 with £12,674 costs.
Comments from the HSE through the link.
British standards relating to machine safety.
Risk Management of Machinery and Work Equipment by John Glover
Firms prosecuted over asbestos danger at Bolton mill
Two companies have been prosecuted after workers were exposed to potentially deadly asbestos fibres at a mill in Bolton.
The Health and Safety Executive (HSE) took legal action against Hazelwise Ltd and RH Property Management Ltd after finding dozens of damaged asbestos boards stacked up at Brownlow Mill during a visit on 20 October 2010.
Manchester Crown Court heard today (24 August 2012) that neither company had put a plan in place to manage the asbestos in the mill on Tennyson Street, where several small businesses rent units.
HSE became aware of the issue when a contractor on the site raised concerns that asbestos insulation boards had been stripped out of unoccupied floors at the mill, releasing potentially deadly asbestos fibres into the air.
Inspectors issued two Prohibition Notices banning the removal of tools and other items from four floors of the mill in case they had become contaminated with asbestos fibres, and preventing access to the floors.
They also found that asbestos was present in other parts of the mill, occupied by tenants, but nothing had been done to protect it and make sure it was safe.
The court was told the letting agent, RH Property Management Ltd, had raised the issue of the lack of an asbestos assessment in 2006 but did not take any further action. The owner of the mill, Hazelwise Ltd, also failed to arrange for an asbestos survey to be carried out.
Both companies pleaded guilty to a breach of the Health and Safety at Work etc Act 1974 for failing to ensure the health and safety of people at the mill. Hazelwise also admitted a breach of the Control of Asbestos Regulations 2006 by failing to properly assess the risks from asbestos at the site.
Hazelwise Ltd, of Mauldeth Avenue in Chorlton, was fined £40,000 and ordered to pay £8,969 in prosecution costs. RH Property Management Ltd, of Greek Street in Stockport, was fined £15,000 and with costs of £11,011.
Comments from the HSE through the link.
Firms fined for asbestos failings
Two Lincoln companies have been fined after workers were exposed to asbestos during the refurbishment of a Northamptonshire hospital ward.
Contractors Simons Construction Ltd hired Rilmac Insulation Ltd to carry out an asbestos survey for them before work began on Martin Roth ward at St Mary’s Hospital, Kettering. The survey identified an asbestos coating on the underside of the ceilings, but missed over 200 sq metres of asbestos insulation board (AIB) above.
Northampton Magistrates’ Court was told today (28 August) that when two workers contracted to Simons were told to knock holes in the ceilings on 17 December 2009, they were not told it contained asbestos and they disturbed both layers.
Their masks were not the correct type, they were not wearing protective overalls and they were not working in a way that would minimise and contain the release of fibres. Asbestos material landed on their clothes, which they wore for the rest of the day increasing their chances of contamination.
The court heard the workers unwittingly increased the risk to themselves when they swept up the debris and left it in a pile on the floor. It was only discovered when a company contracted to remove the ceilings came onto the ward in January 2010 and recognised the material. A licensed asbestos removal company then spent several weeks removing the ceilings.
An investigation by the Health and Safety Executive (HSE) found that the fully qualified surveyor from Rilmac Insulation Ltd had identified asbestos on the underside of the plasterboard ceiling, which did not need to be removed by licensed contractors, but had failed to identify the layer of AIB above it, which did.
HSE also found the two men carrying out the work for Simons had not been trained to recognise asbestos containing materials or how to work safely with it.
Simons Construction Ltd, of Doddington Road, Lincoln, and Rilmac Insulation Ltd, of Crofton Drive, Allenby Road Industrial Estate, Lincoln, both pleaded guilty to breaching Section 3(1) of the Health and Safety at Work etc Act 1974 at Northampton Magistrates’ Court.
Simons Construction Ltd was fined £5,000 and ordered to pay costs of £2,911 while Rilmac Insulation Ltd was fined £3,500 with costs of £2,911.
Comments from the HSE through the link.
Essex plumber may face prison after shoddy gas work left family in danger
An Essex plumber has received a twelve-month suspended prison sentence and 180 hours of unpaid community service after his firm fitted a dangerous boiler in what was to be a child’s bedroom in a house in Clacton-On-Sea.
A joint investigation by Gas Safe and the Health & Safety Executive (HSE) resulted in Lee Lawrence, trading as Amber Plumbing Solutions being taken to court and charged with three breaches of gas safety regulations.
The offences came to light after the boiler refused to work properly over several weeks and the concerned householders contacted a Gas-Safe registered engineer. The engineer condemned the boiler immediately as unsafe and alerted Gas Safe Register.
Colchester Magistrates’ Court heard today (28 August) that an inspection by a Gas Safe regional investigations officer found seven defects directly attributable to the work organised by Lee Lawrence and undertaken by Amber Plumbing Solutions.
A district judge was told the firm had carried out some bathroom work for the householders and were asked to return to carry out gas work in March 2011. The work involved the installation of a gas cooker and moving a boiler upstairs, to a bedroom intended for use by a child.
The boiler was connected in July but kept cutting out prompting the call by the residents to a Gas Safe registered engineer. He was so concerned about the standard of work, he contacted Gas Safe and HSE was later alerted.
HSE found that the advertising flyers produced by Lee Lawrence for Amber Plumbing Solutions displayed the Gas Safe logo and their website falsely stated that Amber Plumbing Solutions was a Gas Safe registered company.
He was found guilty of two breaches of Regulation 3 (7) of the Gas Safe (Installation & use Regulations) 1998 and a breach of Regulation 4 of the Gas Safety regulations. Lee Lawrence, t/a Amber Plumbing Solutions, of Church Road, Clacton on Sea, was ordered to pay £5,400 in compensation to the householder and £2,385 costs in addition to his suspended prison sentence and hours of unpaid community service.
Comments from the HSE through the link.
Firm fined after worker breaks neck and back in roof fall
A housing repair and maintenance company has been fined after a Nottingham worker suffered serious neck and back fractures falling 2.4 metres through a fragile roof.
The employee, 49, who has asked not to be named, needed to wear a body and neck brace for three months after falling head first through an outhouse roof in St Mary’s Close, Gedling on 28 July 2010.
The Health and Safety Executive (HSE), which brought the prosecution, told Nottingham magistrates today (28 August) that the work, carried out by Morrison Facilities Service Ltd of Glasgow on behalf of Gedling Homes, had not been properly planned, supervised or carried out in a safe manner by trained staff.
The court heard that two workers were replacing cement sheets on a fragile, flat roof of a single storey outhouse. The employee accessed the roof via the top section of a triple ladder placed across it, with his colleague working from the bottom of the ladder which rested against a wall.
During the work, one of the sheets started to collapse but was left still hanging from the roof. The worker below was able to hang on to this section, while the employee attempted to get off the roof. However, while going back down the ladder, he put his hand on the collapsed sheet and immediately fell straight through it, head first, landing on a concrete floor.
The man spent ten days in Nottingham’s Queens Medical Centre and had to wear a body and neck brace for three months every time he was mobile. He was in constant pain and had to be helped with washing and dressing during this time. He also needed to walk with a stick for several weeks after the incident.
Morrison Facilities Service Ltd, of Tannochside Park, Uddingston, Glasgow, pleaded guilty to breaching Section 3(1) of the Health and Safety at Work etc Act 1974. The company was fined £18,000 and ordered to pay costs of £5,452
Comments from the HSE through the link.
British standard relating to working at heights.
Milking firm in court after worker injured at Derbyshire farm
A Shropshire milking company has been fined after a worker suffered a fractured skull when he was hit by a steel beam at a Derbyshire farm just a day after he started his job.
The employee, 49, from Preston, was asked to help an experienced engineer install a milking parlour at Brookley Meadows Farm, Thurvaston, Derbyshire, on 5 July 2011, his second day at work for United Milking Systems Ltd.
Derby Magistrates were told today (30 August) that part of the work involved installing four 80kg steel beams at a height of around two metres. The two men tried to install one of them by having one person hold it over his head while the second climbed a stepladder, took the beam from the first person and placed it on to a wall bracket.
The engineer had rested one end of the beam on the wall bracket and they were lifting it on to the opposite bracket when it slipped. As one end hit the floor the vibration caused the engineer on the stepladder to lose his grip on the beam and it landed on the new employee’s head.
He suffered a fractured skull and lacerations and was off work for six weeks.
An investigation into the incident by the Health and Safety Executive (HSE) found it could have been prevented had the company used suitable lifting equipment.
United Milking Systems Ltd, of Tern Hill, Market Drayton, Shropshire, admitted breaching Section 2(1) of the Health and Safety at Work etc Act 1974 and was fined £7,500 and ordered to pay costs of £5,000.
Comments from the HSE through the link.
British standards relating to health & safety.
Essex fireplace fitters fined after gas leak
An Essex fireplace installation company has been fined after their inadequate work on domestic gas pipes put a family’s life at risk in their own home.
Fireplaces by Heals, of London Rd, Leigh-on-Sea, was commissioned to install a new fireplace at a home in Leigh-On-Sea, Essex, on 28 February 2011. Due to a shortage of staff, the company’s retired director, Les Heal, was sent out to prepare the area for the fitting of the new fireplace. He removed a section of gas pipe that was protruding through the floor and carpet and then capped the pipe underneath the floorboards with a compression joint.
When the householder got home from work at 5am after a night shift, he immediately smelt a strong gas odour throughout the house including in the main bedroom, where his wife was sleeping.
A Health and Safety Executive (HSE) investigation found that the joint had been capped with an inadequate fitting and in an inaccessible place, which is contrary to British standards and potentially dangerous.
Southend Magistrates’ Court was told today (30 August) that Fireplaces by Heals had failed to use a competent and Gas Safe registered engineer to ensure that the work carried out on the property had been properly completed, therefore putting lives at risk.
Fireplaces by Heals was found guilty of breaching Regulations 3(2) and 4 of the Gas Safety (Installation & Use) Regulations 1998, and Section 3(1) of the Health and Safety at Work Act 1974. They were fined £4,000 and ordered to pay £10,000 costs.
Comments from the HSE through the link.
Nursing home owners sentenced after death of elderly resident
Two nursing home owners have been fined after an elderly resident died following a fall from a hoist.
Annie Bradley, 78, who was known as Vera, was being transported in a sling from her bed to a specialist chair at Harley House Nursing Home on Elms Road in Leicester on 19 July 2008. During the manoeuvre Miss Bradley fell to the floor, hitting her head. The pensioner, who suffered from Huntingdon’s disease and was immobile, died the following day.
Sisters Fatima and Munira Mawji, both of Scraptoft, owned Harley House at the time of the incident. They were prosecuted by the Health and Safety Executive (HSE) for failing to ensure the safety of Miss Bradley.
Leicester Crown Court heard the hoist was in such poor condition that it could not be used safely. The stitching on the sling was worn and damaged meaning the support stays that should have supported Miss Bradley’s head could not be used.
HSE found the system of work used by the nurse and care assistant operating the hoist put Miss Bradley at risk of falling from the hoist at any time. The court was also told the training of the two employees in manual handling was limited, and the supervision and assessment of competence in manual handling was not adequate.
Fatima Mawji of Facers Lane, Scraptoft, and Munira Mawji of Scraptoft Lane, Scraptoft, pleaded guilty to breaching Section 3(1) of the Health and Safety at Work etc Act 1974. They were today (30 August) both fined £50,000 and both ordered to pay £20,000 costs at Leicester Crown Court.
Comments from the HSE through the link.
British standards relating to Aids and adaptation for moving.
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