Firm fined over unsafe work on school roof

A Blackburn firm has been fined for allowing work to be carried out on a primary school roof without safety measures in place.

Workers on the roof a primary school in Clayton le Woods
 

An inspector from the Health and Safety Executive (HSE) was passing Clayton le Woods Primary School, near Chorley, on 31 January this year when he spotted four men working on the roof.

No scaffolding or other safety equipment had been installed, which would have prevented them from being injured in a fall. This was despite one of the men working at the edge of the roof next to a 15 foot drop.

The inspector immediately served a Prohibition Notice ordering the men to come down from the roof until safety measures were put in place. HSE today (26 October 2012) prosecuted Hall Isherwood Ltd, the company responsible for overseeing the work, for two breaches of the Work at Height Regulations 2005.

South Ribble Magistrates' Court in Leyland heard that the company had been hired to carry out work at the school on Back Lane in Clayton le Woods, which included painting work and replacing slates on one side of a sloping roof.

The only access to the roof was by using a ladder, which had not been secured to stop it slipping. Once the workers were on the roof, there were no guard rails or scaffolding in place to stop them from falling.

Hall Isherwood Ltd, of Wensley Road in Blackburn, was fined £750 and ordered to pay £1,581 in prosecution costs after admitting both safety offences.

Speaking after the hearing, HSE Inspector Anthony Polec said:
"This was a large project taking place over several days. Scaffolding or other safety equipment should therefore have been used to ensure the work could be carried out safely.

"As the principal contractor on the site, Hall Isherwood was responsible for making sure lives weren't put at risk. However, it allowed the workers to use an unstable ladder to reach the roof and there were no safety measures in place once they were on top of the building.

"Falls from height are responsible for several deaths on UK construction sites every year and it's only luck that no one was injured in this instance."

Recycling company fined after injury on Croydon site

A recycling company has been ordered to pay a £20,000 fine by the end of the week for safety failings on a waste transfer site in Croydon after an overseas student on shift work fell four metres through a chute.

Mr Priyank Malik, 22, from India, a Business Studies student at Westminster Academy who was living in Uxbridge, was working part-time on the waste site to support himself through a post-graduate diploma.

He was injured when he fell through a chute into a waste-storage bay at the Country Waste Management site on Beddington Lane, Croydon on 15 April 2011.
Although Mr Malik suffered only minor injuries, the Health and Safety Executive (HSE), which investigated, said that Country Waste Management failed to put measures in place to protect their employees and others working at height.
Westminster Magistrates’ Court heard today (10 Oct) that One51 Recycling ES UK (South) Limited, trading as Country Waste Management, had received advice in 2010 from HSE about its responsibility to control the risks of working at height.

After Mr Malik’s incident, HSE inspectors served an Improvement Notice on the company requiring it to take sufficient measures to safeguard workers from falls from height.

Inspectors say that if the company had applied a risk-based approach, identifying hazards, assessing risks and implementing robust controls to protect employees and others at the site, Mr Malik's accident could have been avoided and others at the site would not have been exposed to the risk of injury from falls.

One51 Recycling ES UK (South) Limited, of the Future Industrial Services Limited, Image Park, Acornfield Road, Kirby, Merseyside, pleaded guilty to breaching Regulation 3 of the Management of Health and Safety at Work Regulations 1999. The firm was fined £20,000 and ordered to pay £6,485 in costs by the end of the week.

After the hearing, HSE Inspector Clare Hawkes said:

“The failure to take a systematic, risk-based approach to managing health and safety led to an employee’s fall of four metres that could have led to far more serious and even fatal injuries.

“The company should have taken action to stamp out practices like crossing the openings of chutes and walking on top of loaded containers. If work at height cannot be avoided then physical low cost and simple measures should be taken, such as erecting barriers or suitable edge protection to prevent falls from open edges. Employers should have clear site rules and ensure that they are enforced.”

Firm fined after incorrect machine set up caused injury to worker

An Essex packaging company has been fined for safety failings after a worker suffered a badly bruised hand because the machine he was working on had been incorrectly set up.

The 20-year old worker, who does not wish to be named, suffered serious bruising to his right hand and was off work for 8 days after it was pulled into a machine for making cardboard tubes.
Curran Packaging Company Ltd was prosecuted by the Health and Safety Executive (HSE) for failing to ensure the health, safety and welfare at work of its employees following the incident at its East Tilbury factory in June 2011.

Basildon Magistrates' Court heard today (1 October) that had the machine been set up with a trip switch in the correct position it would have stopped before the operator's hand was drawn into a danger area.

They also heard that this failure to ensure machinery was adequately guarded wasn't an isolated incident.

Magistrates were told that there had been another incident four months previously involving another employee who suffered similar injuries. HSE's investigation found the company had failed to update the risk assessments for its other machines.

Curran Packaging Company Ltd, of Thames Industrial Estate, Princess Margaret Road, East Tilbury, was fined a total of £15,000 after pleading guilty of breaching section 2(1) Health & Safety at Work etc Act 1974. The company was also ordered to pay £ 4,069 in costs and a £15 victim surcharge.
After the hearing, HSE Inspector Keith Waller said:

"Curran Packaging Company failed to take appropriate safety precautions on their machinery and a 20-year old employee suffered serious bruising to his hand as a result.

"The fact that they had a similar incident involving another employee just four months previously and still failed to update their risk assessment procedures shows a disregard for their employees' safety.
"All employers need to ensure that any machinery they use as part of their business is safe and correctly set up to protect their employees."

Excavator driver sentenced after worker severely injured on first day

A Nottinghamshire demolition company and one of its employees have appeared in court after a worker suffered severe injuries when he was hit by a falling excavator bucket on his first day on site.

Labourer James Wilson, of Misterton, was working for Bloom Plant Ltd on a demolition site on Kilton Road, Worksop, on 10 January 2011.

Excavator driver Paul Batty, who was also employed by Bloom Plant Ltd, was re-attaching the four tonne excavator bucket to the boom of his machine when it fell and slid down a pile of rubble, landing on Mr Wilson and leaving him with major crush injuries.

Mr Wilson, who was 46 when the incident happened lost his left eye and part of his scalp. He also broke his eye socket, cheekbone, jaw, nose, left collarbone, several ribs and his left leg He also punctured a lung and severed the nerves on his bottom lip.

Mr Wilson was in a coma for two weeks and had to have a tracheotomy to help him breathe. He also needed extensive reconstructive surgery. He is still undergoing surgery, has not been able to return to work and is unlikely to for the foreseeable future.

An investigation by the Health and Safety Executive (HSE) found Bloom Plant Ltd had no safe systems of work in place and had not given Mr Wilson adequate information, instruction, training or supervision including adequate warnings of the hazards involved when working around plant.

Mansfield Magistrates' Court was told today (3 October) that employees should have been excluded from the area while the bucket was being re-attached and a safety pin used to secure it in place. During its investigation HSE found Mr Batty failed to take either of these preventative measures.

Paul Nathan Batty, of Grange Road, Ordsall, Retford, pleaded guilty to breaching Section 7(a) of the Health and Safety at Work etc Act 1974 by failing to take reasonable care of the health and safety of others. He was sentenced to 250 hours of unpaid work and ordered to pay a £200 contribution towards costs.
Bloom Plant Ltd, of Askham Road, East Markham, Newark, pleaded guilty to breaching Section 2(1) of the Health and Safety at Work etc act 1974 by failing to provide and maintain safe systems of work and to provide adequate information, instruction, training or supervision. The case was committed to Crown Court for sentencing at a later date.

After the hearing HSE inspector Kevin Wilson said:

"Mr Wilson suffered appalling injuries and was extremely lucky to survive. He was put in a position of grave danger by Mr Batty, who re-attached the bucket without ensuring the area was clear of other people and not in a safe position on level ground.

"Bloom Plant Ltd should have provided safe systems of work for both Mr Batty and Mr Wilson with better instruction, information, training and supervision, especially as the operations being carried out were known to have serious risks."

Firm fined after worker run over by digger

A construction company has been fined after a worker suffered multiple injuries when he was run over by a seven tonne digger in Mansfield.

Michael Tomlinson, from Birmingham, suffered multiple injuries including a ruptured bladder, and fractured wrist, in the incident at a construction site on Jubilee Way South, on 8 November 2010.

Mansfield Magistrates' Court heard today (3 October) that he was working as a groundworker for Birmingham-based Parkstone Construction Ltd to prepare the foundations for a supermarket.

A reversing digger struck Mr Tomlinson after the driver failed to notice him behind the vehicle. He took the full impact of the tracks as they knocked him to the ground and crushed him underneath.

An investigation by the Health and Safety Executive (HSE) found that Parkstone Construction Ltd had failed to ensure that workers were safely segregated from moving vehicles while work was being carried out.

The company, of Stonebridge Road, Coleshill, Birmingham, pleaded guilty to breaching Section 3 (1) of the Health and Safety at Work etc Act 1974 and was fined £15,000 with costs of £6,447.

After the hearing HSE Inspector Nic Rigby said:

"This incident was entirely preventable, and Mr Tomlinson could have avoided serious and painful injuries had work at the site been better managed.

"Those in charge of construction sites must ensure that pedestrians and vehicles are effectively and safely segregated. There is clear guidance on how to achieve this and ensure incidents of this kind can be avoided."

Essex truck firm in court over life-changing injuries

An Essex firm has been prosecuted after one of its employees suffered life-changing injuries when he fell from a stepladder while spray-painting a lorry.

The lorry the worker was painting when the incident occurred
 

The 51-year-old man from Latchingdon, who has asked not to be named, shattered his left shoulder and collar bone, broke several ribs and received a deep cut to his head in the fall at Chelmer Truck Bodies Ltd in Boreham near Chelmsford.

The company was prosecuted by the Health and Safety Executive (HSE) after an investigation found that the same employee had fallen off a stepladder just one month before the incident, but no action had been taken to improve safety at the site on Boreham Industrial Estate.

Chelmsford Magistrates' Court head today (3 October) that the worker had been painting the lorry on 27 January 2012 when one of the feet on the stepladder slipped down a grill in the concrete floor.

He fell approximately two metres and suffered serious injuries. He is still unable to return to work nearly six months on from the incident, and suffers considerable pain due to the injury to his shoulder.

The court was told the company should have provided employees with a safe working platform rather than stepladders to carry out the work, as they were working at height for several hours at a time.

Chelmer Truck Bodies Ltd was found guilty of a breach of the Work at Height Regulations 2005 by failing to make sure that work at height was carried out safely.
The company, which went into voluntary liquidation in April 2012, was fined £7,500 and ordered to pay costs of £4,923 as well as a £15 victim surcharge.
Speaking after the hearing, HSE Inspector Kim Tichias said:

"One of Chelmer Truck Bodies' employees has suffered life-changing injuries because the company failed to do anything to improve safety when he fell off a stepladder a month earlier.

"The dangers of carrying out work at height are well known and the company should have provided secure working platforms rather than giving employees lightweight stepladders.

"If the firm had planned the work properly and made changes following the previous incident, then the worker's injuries could have been avoided."

Builder paralysed after fall from roof

A Lincolnshire farming business has been fined after a building contractor was left paralysed when he fell through a barn roof.

Paul Blanchard was contracted by Loates Bros Limited to replace damaged roof panels and skylights on barns at Northorpe Grange and Southorpe Farm in Blyton.
He carried out the work at Northorpe Grange without any problems, but the following day, 18 July 2010, he fell more than four metres through a fragile skylight at Southorpe Farm shortly after climbing onto the barn roof.

Mr Blanchard, 56, of Gainsborough, broke his back, 18 ribs and suffered severe head injuries and a punctured lung. He was in an induced coma for three months and in hospital for six months. He now needs a wheelchair after being left paralysed from the chest down.

A Health and Safety Executive (HSE) investigation into the incident found that Loates Bros Limited failed to assess Mr Blanchard's suitability for the job and allowed work to be carried out in an unsafe manner.

Work was allowed to go ahead without the contractor providing a risk assessment or method statement; there was no safe means of roof access and no protective measures were in place to prevent or mitigate the effects of a fall at either location.

Lincoln Magistrates' Court was told today (3 October) that the work at Northorpe Grange was assisted by one of the company directors lifting the panels up to the roof on a telescopic handler. Mr Blanchard and another man then slid them down and into place.

At Southorpe Farm, Mr Blanchard accessed the roof by using a staircase and climbing through a window in an adjacent building. The director again helped him lift equipment using the same telescopic handler before leaving Mr Blanchard to get on with the work.

Loates Bros Limited pleaded guilty to two breaches of Section 3(1) of the Health and Safety at Work Act, was fined £20,000 and ordered to pay costs of £14,995.
After the hearing HSE inspector Martin Giles said:

"Maintenance of the farm buildings was a necessary part of the company's undertaking. As such Loates Bros Limited had a duty to ensure that contractors like Mr Blanchard were not exposed to unnecessary risks to their safety.
"One of the company directors worked with Mr Blanchard for some of the time and was in a position to see how he was working. He was also able to note that there was a complete lack of safety equipment in use.

"The director was therefore in a position to question and stop the work if he felt it was unsafe. In failing to ensure that the contractor was competent; that there were adequate arrangements for planning and organising the work and by allowing Mr Blanchard and the other man to work on barn roofs in an unsafe manner Loates Bros Limited breached its duty to them at both sites."
After the hearing Mr Blanchard said:

"My injuries have been very hard to come to terms with, not just for me but my wife Jenny as well. We're still having to change the way we do things, even now, more than two years on.

"My wife and two grown-up children really went through it when I was in hospital. They were told on more than one occasion I wouldn't make it through the night.

"I feel frustrated that I can't work any more, do all the manly jobs around the house, or play squash like I used to, but I realise I'm lucky to be here. The way I see it, the glass is half full."

Since the incident, Mr Blanchard, who has had to move to a specially adapted bungalow, has spoken at a number of health and safety conferences about the impact it has had on his life.
He added:

"I hope that telling people what I've been through will make them think about how important health and safety in the workplace is, and they can avoid something like this happening to them

Brewer fined for ignoring safety warning

A microbrewery has been sentenced for failing to take sufficient action to prevent unsafe work at height and improve manual handling at its Marsh Gibbon production plant.

Oxfordshire Ales Limited was warned in May 2010 that it needed to improve after the Health and Safety Executive (HSE) served an Improvement Notice requiring action to protect workers transferring materials from racking to processing machinery.

A visiting HSE inspector raised concerns about manual handling operations, principally the filling of hoppers with malt and barley, which involved employees lifting heavy sacks weighing up to 25kg in awkward circumstances. The notice required the company to carry out a thorough assessment of the handling risks and to take appropriate action.

Aylesbury Magistrates' Court heard today (1 October) that HSE revisited the brewery on 8 November 2010 and again on 3 February 2011, but on both occasions little had changed.
Further concerns were also identified with a mezzanine floor that was accessible via inadequate steps. A second Improvement Notice was served in March 2011 to trigger action on this failing before improvements were belatedly made.

Oxfordshire Ales Limited, of Peartree Industrial Units, Bichester Road, Marsh Gibbon, was fined £6,000 and ordered to pay £8,623 in costs for breaching Section 21 of the Health and Safety at Work etc Act 1974 and Regulation 6(3) of the Work at Height Regulations 2005. The company pleaded guilty to the offences at an earlier hearing.

Afterwards HSE Inspector Stephen Manley said:

"The response of Oxfordshire Ales to the original Improvement Notice was disappointing to say the least. The improvements were necessary in order to protect workers from injury and prevent falls, yet the company took far too long to take appropriate action.

"Thankfully no employees were hurt, but there were clear risks that could easily have been remedied a lot sooner."

Building contractor to pay £548,000 following death of worker

A building contractor was today ordered to pay a total of £548,000 after a worker fell through a roof while working on the construction of the Menai Centre in Bangor, Wales.

Thomas Whitmarsh, 21, of Batley in West Yorkshire, was employed by a roofing contractor working for principal contractor, Watkin Jones & Son Ltd, on the roof of the shopping centre on 29 May 2007. He fell nearly six metres through an unguarded opening in the roof to the floor below, sustaining serious head injuries.

He spent several months in hospital and was making a gradual recovery. However, the brain injury Mr Whitmarsh suffered exposed him to a much higher degree of infection. He contracted acute meningitis and died on 17 December 2009.

Evidence presented to Mold Crown Court included a pathologist's findings which suggested that there was more than an 80 per cent chance that the injuries from the fall contributed to his death.

The Health and Safety Executive (HSE) prosecuted Watkin Jones & Son Ltd for failing to ensure Mr Whitmarsh's safety while at work.

The court was told today (4 Oct) that edge protection around the opening in the roof had been removed prior to the incident, and the company had failed to provide an alternative means to protect against falls.

The company, which is based at Llandygai Industrial Estate in Bangor, was found guilty of breaching Section 3(1) of the Health and Safety at Work etc Act 1974. It was fined £450,000 and ordered to pay £98,000 in costs.
Following the hearing, HSE inspector Chris Wilcox said:

"Poor co-ordination between the principal and the roofing contractors on this particular part of the site led to the edge protection being removed from around the roof opening without alternative safeguards in place.

"Falls from height are an alarmingly common cause of death and serious injury in construction. All too often straightforward practical precautions are not considered and workers are put needlessly at risk. Poor management of risk in this industry is unacceptable and HSE will take strong action when necessary.
"This tragic case should remind all contractors that work at height must be managed effectively and adequate safeguards should be in place to prevent falls."

Demolition contractor fined for unsafe work at height

A self-employed demolition contractor has been fined after members of the public reported workers operating unsafely at roof height during the demolition of a Derbyshire pub.

Colin Rogers, 59, of Andrews Drive, Langley Mill, trading as Central Demolition & Salvage Specialists, was the principal contractor at the former Jolly Colliers pub on Jessop Street, Ripley, in May 2011.

Worker on the roof of the former Jolly Colliers pub
 

Southern Derbyshire Magistrates' Court was told that the Health and Safety Executive (HSE) received complaints from three different members of the public, one of whom took photographs of some of the unsafe work taking place at the site. They showed workers on the roof of the two-storey building without any measures to prevent them from falling.

As a result, HSE gave Mr Rogers advice on safe working at height. However, during a follow-up visit to the site on 19 May, Inspectors saw unsafe practices still taking place, including one worker throwing timber from the edge of the building at roof level with no safety measures to stop a fall.
Two Prohibition Notices were served by HSE preventing any further work until a suitable demolition plan was adopted and adequate fall prevention measures introduced.

The court fined Mr Rogers £2,500 and ordered him to pay costs of £2,500 after he admitted breaching Section 3(2) of the Health and Safety at Work etc Act 1974.

Speaking after the hearing HSE Inspector Lee Greatorex said:

"The dangers that the workers faced were so great and so obvious that no fewer than three members of the public took the trouble to contact HSE with their concerns, one of them with photographs.
"Colin Rogers blatantly ignored HSE's advice leaving a worker at the site exposed to an unnecessary risk of a serious or even fatal injury. Demolition and work at height are high risk activities. There is a need to adequately plan for such work and ensure those plans are fully implemented and monitored effectively to ensure the safety of those involved."

RR946 - Age related changes and safety critical work - Identification of tools and a review of the literature

The removal of a compulsory retirement age may have implications for health and safety at work, and as such is a cross-cutting issue for HSE. HSE is concerned that some workers may continue to perform tasks with deteriorating performance. This may be a particular issue in safety critical and major hazard industries, and could potentially lead to an increase in the risk of major incidents or injury. More generally, dutyholders may also be finding it difficult to judge whether workers have the functional capacity to work to the required level of safe performance.

This piece of work has aimed to assess existing evidence on age related changes in performance and safety critical work, identify tools that assist dutyholders to assess human function and performance and to critically consider what the findings mean in terms of the need for future work.

This report and the work it describes were funded by the Health and Safety Executive (HSE). Its contents, including any opinions and/or conclusions expressed, are those of the authors alone and do not necessarily reflect HSE policy.

• Full report

Cornish firm fined following excavation plunge

A member of the public sustained spinal injuries and a fractured skull after he plunged 15 feet into an open excavation that had been left unprotected by workmen.

The 31-year-old male, who does not want to be named, was visiting the home of a friend in The Terrace, Port Isaac, when the fall occurred on 6 October last year. In addition to injuring his spine and skull, he also burst his eardrum.
The large excavation was in a neighbouring garden and had been dug out as part of a major domestic refurbishment project.

Bodmin Magistrates' Court heard today (3 October) that HML Builders Ltd, of Wadebridge, was responsible for the work.

An investigation by the Health and Safety Executive (HSE) found the company had not installed any edge protection to stop people falling into the pit, despite the edge of the excavation running along a path directly to the front of a chalet on the neighbouring property.

HML Builders Ltd, of Bess Park Road, Wadebridge, pleaded guilty to breaching Regulation 31 (2) of the Construction (Design and Mangement) Regulations 2007. The company was fined £12,000 and ordered to pay £3,793 in costs.
After the hearing, HSE Inspector Helena Tinton, said:

"The failure to put any edge protection in place to stop people falling into the excavation could easily have caused a death. It was dark at the time of the fall and the injured man had no reason to know the hole was there. His serious injuries could have been avoided by some very simple measures, such as suitably supported guard rails and toe boards. HML's negligence not only put the lives of their own workers at risk but also those of members of the public."

Builder faces jail over toddler's death

A Welsh builder has been sentenced to two years in prison after being convicted of gross negligence manslaughter in the case of a three-year-old girl who was killed when a substandard wall collapsed on top of her.

Builder George Collier was found guilty of gross negligence manslaughter today at Mold Crown Court in a case brought by the Crown Prosecution Service. His company, Parcol Developments Ltd, pleaded guilty to breaching the Health and Safety at Work Act 1974 at an earlier hearing.

The court heard that Collier was doing construction work outside a house in Ffordd Penrhwylfa, Meliden in Prestatyn on 26 July 2008 when three-year-old Meg Burgess and her mother, Lindsay Burgess, were walking in front of it on a public footpath.

 

Aerial view of the scene of the wall collapse

 

An investigation by North Wales Police and the Health and Safety Executive (HSE) found the wall had recently been built and had been backfilled by Collier shortly before it collapsed, killing Meg, who was walking behind her mother.
The wall was acting as a retaining wall but had not been designed or constructed for this purpose and fell under the weight of the earth stacked up against it.

Speaking after the hearing, HSE Inspector Debbie John said:

"This was an entirely preventable incident that resulted in the tragic death of an innocent three-year-old girl. There were basic failings in the way that George Collier and Parcol Developments Ltd. planned and managed the construction of the wall, leading to its collapse.

"On the day of the incident George Collier and Parcol Developments Ltd backfilled the wall despite knowing that retaining walls should be designed by a specialist structural engineer. Neither had engaged a structural engineer to design a safe retaining wall.

"This case is an important reminder to those working in construction to make sure that design work is done by competent people and building is done to the appropriate standard. It also highlights the importance of ensuring that members of the public are kept away from construction work."
Rosemary Ainslie, lawyer for the CPS Special Crime division, said: "This was a tragic case, in which a young girl lost her life.

"Mr Collier was responsible for the design and construction of the wall but did not make sure it was built to safe standards, nor did he prevent members of the public from walking past it, with terrible consequences.

"The jury has found Mr Collier guilty of gross negligence manslaughter and his conviction should act not only as a reminder of the dangers of sub-standard building work but also of the consequences for those who carry it out.

"I extend my deepest sympathies to the family of young Meg Burgess."
George Collier, 49, of Llys Glan yr Afon, Kinmel Bay pleaded not guilty to charges of gross negligence manslaughter December 2011. His company, Parcol Developments - of the same address - pleaded guilty to breaching Section 3 (1) of the Health and Safety at Work Act 1974 at the same time. No additional penalty was given to the company.

Carpet cleaner died after being electrocuted by faulty wiring at London home

The heartbroken girlfriend of a carpet cleaner electrocuted while working at a London house paid tribute today to her “first and only love”.

Diyan Hristov, 22, was found slumped over furniture at the £1 million Victorian terrace home in Putney after suffering a shock from faulty wiring.

His cleaning machine and an electric pedal fan were both still running when his body was discovered in an upstairs bedroom on a chaise longue.

An inquest at Westminster coroner’s court heard that poor wiring in the house — which had undergone extensive renovation — led to exposed metal on an appliance becoming live.

Tonka Bimbelova, 26, who moved to London from Bulgaria with Mr Hristov in 2007, said: “We came over because there wasn’t much work in Bulgaria. He hardly ever took a day off. If he had the choice to work or have a day off he always chose work.”

The couple met as teenagers working at a hotel reception in the Black Sea resort of Bourgas, and had been planning to get married and start a family. Mr Hristov, who worked as a contractor for Perfect Clean, had been hired to clean carpets at the house owned by commercial lawyer Jean-Pierre Douglas-Henry in July 2010. His body was discovered by Mr Douglas-Henry’s wife. She called the emergency services but paramedics could not save him.

Coroner Dr Shirley Radcliffe, who recorded a verdict of accidental death, said experts from the Health and Safety Executive had concluded there were no faults with the cleaning machine.

She said: “Therefore, his conclusion is it must have been as a result of a fault with the electrical installation.”

Ms Bimbelova said she would not make any decisions about pursuing a private prosecution until she had spoken to her lawyer

Contractor falsified document to show site was clear of asbestos                                  

A director of an asbestos firm has been given a suspended prison sentence for removing the hazardous substance without a license and doctoring the results of an air test.

Peter Horrey, the sole director of Absolute Asbestos Ltd, was contracted to remove asbestos insulation from a boiler room at a block of flats in Camden, London.

Between 18 and 29 July last year, Horrey removed asbestos insulation, which was covering two boilers and pipework in the room. When the work was completed he contacted an independent analyst to carry out an air test to check if the room was free of asbestos fibres.

The analyst provided a certificate, which clearly showed the site had failed the test, but Horrey then provided a doctored report for residents, indicating the room had passed the test and was safe for them to re-enter.

During the test, the analyst became concerned about some debris in the room, which he believed contained asbestos. He subsequently contacted the HSE to report his concerns.

The HSE investigated the complaint and found Horrey was not licensed to remove asbestos. He had also failed to effectively clean and decontaminate the site and had left visible asbestos fibres, which were a danger to both residents and plumbers, who were due to start work in the boiler room.

HSE inspector Dominic Elliss described Horrey as showing a reckless disregard for safety. “He clearly set out to deceive these householders but, worse than that, he was apparently content to put them and the plumbers, who had been booked shortly afterwards at risk,” said the inspector.

“Asbestos is not an historical threat. It is the single greatest cause of work-related deaths in the UK and the dangers are well-known.”

Horrey appeared at Southwark Crown Court on 13 September and pleaded guilty to breaching reg.5, reg.8(1), and reg. 17 of the Control of Asbestos Regulations 2006. He was given a six-month prison sentence for each offence, to run concurrently and suspended for two years. He was also given an electronic curfew between 9pm and 6am and ordered to pay £11,340 in compensation to residents to cover the cost of a licensed contractor making the site safe. He was also ordered to pay £10,160 in costs.

In mitigation, Horrey said he believed he could do the work safely, having worked for licensed asbestos contractors in the past. He entered an early guilty plea and said he had no previous convictions

Fee for Intervention (FFI)

 

HSE now operates a Fee for Intervention (FFI) cost recovery scheme, which came into effect on 1 October 2012.

Under The Health and Safety (Fees) Regulations 2012, those who break health and safety laws are liable for recovery of HSE’s related costs, including inspection, investigation and taking enforcement action.

The Fee for Intervention hourly rate for 2012/13 is £124. The many businesses that comply with their legal obligations will continue to pay nothing.

HSE will review how FFI is working after the first twelve months of operation, and within three years of the regime coming into effect. The review reports will be published on this website.

This site contains all of the information a dutyholder needs to understand the new scheme

Barking garage fined for dangerous repair work

A Barking garage has been prosecuted for allowing workers to continue using unsafe electrical equipment for car repairs.

On 19 January 2011 the Health and Safety Executive (HSE) banned M &K Autos Ltd from using a two-post vehicle hoist at premises on the Barking Industrial Estate until repairs were made on exposed live cables and terminals.
However, workers were not instructed to stop using the equipment, which put them at risk of electrocution.

Westminster Magistrates' Court heard (26 September) that when a HSE inspector revisited the site in April he found the hoist was still in use and that no remedial work had been undertaken.

M&K Autos Ltd, of the Rippleside Commercial Estate, Ripple Road, Barking, pleaded guilty to breaching the requirements of a prohibition notice served under Section 22 of the Health and Safety at Work etc. Act 1974. The company was fined £4,000 and ordered to pay £2,000 in costs.

After the hearing, HSE Inspector Mohammed Tahir Mortuza said:

"Live exposed terminals on the damaged vehicle hoist were just centimetres away from hand operated controls, and it is extremely fortunate that no one was injured or even killed.

"The risks associated with electricity are well known and documented, and when equipment is prohibited for use by HSE it is for a good reason. By failing to comply, M & K Autos put their mechanics at risk of electrocution. HSE will always take action when such breaches occur."

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.

After sentencing, HSE Inspector Joanne Nicholls, said:

"Ian Mackie suffered serious, life-changing injuries in an incident that could easily have been avoided.

"The risks associated with workplace transport are well known and R & J Milne Limited should have carried out a suitable and sufficient risk assessment to identify appropriate safety measures.

"A safe system of work would have ensured that if pedestrians were present, vehicles would not be allowed to enter or move in the same area. Other measures could have included specific pedestrian zones, stop boards in front of lorries and a key safe system.

"As no such measures had been identified or implemented, two men's lives were needlessly put at risk."

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.

She said:
"This was a terrible tragedy that could have been so easily avoided. Bed safety rails are used extensively in the health and social care sectors to protect vulnerable people from falling out of bed. The risks of their use are well documented, actively published and widely recognised in the health care industry.

"There are several causes of injury involving bed rails used incorrectly. The most serious is asphyxiation as a result of being trapped by the head or neck. This can happen because a rail is not designed for use with a particular bed, or because of poor bed rail design leading to too much space between the rails.

"Staff at Aden Court, owned and operated by New Century Care, had no instruction in how to carry out risk assessments for the safe use of bed rails and no training how to fit them correctly and keep them safely adjusted.

"If anything positive is to come out of this very sad incident, it is that other employers take note and be aware that HSE will not hesitate to take action against those who fall so far below the required standards."

In the five years to 2005 there were at least ten deaths and a number of major injury incidents in which the use of bed rails was implicated. More recently, in 2010 a NHS Foundation Trust in the South East was fined £50,000 after the death of a disabled man whose head became trapped between bed rails. The following year, a nursing home was fined £70,000 when an elderly lady died of asphyxiation when she became trapped between a mattress and a bed rail in 2008

Landlady fined for gas safety failings

A Staffordshire woman has been fined for failing to provide evidence that a gas safety check had been carried out at one of her tenanted properties.

Liane Dewsbury was originally asked by Lichfield District Council to produce Landlord's gas safety certificates for boilers at two properties she owned in Queen Street, Burntwood. When they were not forthcoming the council referred the matter to the Health and Safety Executive (HSE).

The certificates are required to confirm that gas appliances, installation and flues at a property have been checked annually for safety by a Gas Safe registered engineer.

South Walls Magistrates' Court was told today (12 Sept) that despite numerous requests the certificates were not produced. On 4 October 2011 HSE served two Improvement Notices requiring Mrs Dewsbury to arrange for a competent gas fitter to carry out an inspection of the gas appliances in the two premises and produce a certificate for both. She was given until 11 November 2011 to comply.

The court heard she complied with one of the Notices but despite several more requests by the HSE, she failed to provide a certificate for the second property until 15 February 2012.

Liane Dewsbury, of Main Road, Milford, Stafford, pleaded guilty to breaching Section 33(1)(g) of the Health and Safety at Work etc Act 1974. She was fined £1,500 and ordered to pay costs of £3,209.

Speaking after the hearing HSE inspector Wayne Owen said:

"Liane Dewsbury chose to put the health of her tenants potentially at risk and also chose to ignore for many months the repeated requests to produce the gas safety records.

"On average 20 people each year die from carbon monoxide poisoning caused by gas appliances and flues that are faulty. Many more people suffer serious health effects from breathing in carbon monoxide. In extreme cases paralysis and brain damage can result from prolonged exposure.

"Unchecked gas appliances do become unsafe over time, exposing tenants to possible serious injuries or even fatality. It is important that landlords fulfil their legal gas safety obligations to their tenants. This means ensuring an annual gas safety check is carried out by a suitably qualified Gas Safe registered engineer. It also means being able to provide tenants with an up-to-date gas safety record."

St Helens recycling firm sentenced over worker's death

 

A recycling company has been ordered to pay £240,000 in fines and costs after a worker was killed at a St Helens factory.

The Health and Safety Executive (HSE) prosecuted JFC Plastics Ltd, previously known as Delleve Plastics Ltd, after Steven Bennett died at the company's former premises at the Neills Road Industrial Estate in Bold.

 

The machine which caused Steven Bennett's death

 

Liverpool Crown Court heard that Mr Bennett, 31, was last seen alive by his colleagues in the early hours of the morning on 24 November 2005.
The HSE investigation concluded that the most likely cause of his death was that he fell into a machine, used to break apart bales of plastic bottles, while checking to see if it was running smoothly.

The court was told JFC Plastics failed to take steps to prevent access to the machine while it was operating, and failed to ensure power to the machine was cut before maintenance work was carried out.

The company also had an inadequate risk assessment in place and its training, supervision and monitoring of the work did not meet acceptable standards.
JFC Plastics Ltd, of Goldicote Business Park, Stratford upon Avon, Warwickshire, pleaded guilty to breaching Section 2(1) of the Health and Safety at Work etc Act 1974 by failing to ensure the safety of employees who were operating the machine.

The company was sentenced following a Newton hearing in which the judge found that its failings were a significant cause of Mr Bennett's death.
JFC Plastics was fined £140,000 and ordered to pay £100,000 in prosecution costs on 28 September 2012.

Speaking after the hearing, HSE Principal Inspector Tanya Stewart said:
"This was a tragic death that could have been prevented if JFC Plastics had put more thought into the safety of its employees and the adequacy of its working practices.

"Employees regularly entered the machine to remove entangled wire, but there were no safeguards in place to prevent them carrying out this work while the machine's parts were still moving.

"I hope this case will act as a warning to companies to think more carefully about the safety of workers who clean, maintain or repair machines or who clear blockages."