Construction Company puts residents and public at risk

A construction company has been fined for safety failings that put workers, residents and the public at risk from falling debris and possible collapse of the building.

Merthyr Magistrates’ Court heard how, in March 2015, unsafe demolition work was carried out on buildings at the former St. Tydfil’s Hospital site in Merthyr Tydfil.

Merthyr Developments Limited, of Welling Way, Rhymney, were prosecuted by the HSE and fined a total of £12,000, and ordered to pay £1,494 in costs after pleading guilty to offences under Regulation 28(1), 29(1), and 29(2) of the Construction (Design and Management) Regulations 2007.
 

Construction firms sentenced after worker death

A national construction firm and a glazing contractor have been sentenced after pleading guilty to safety breaches after a worker fell to his death from a store front in Exeter.

Philip Evans was working for specialist construction company London Fenestration Trades Ltd, which was contracted by principal contractor, Sir Robert McAlpine to undertake remedial repair works to a glass façade above an entrance to a department store in Princess Hay, Exeter on 9th November 2011.

While a colleague worked on a higher part of the curtain wall from a mobile working platform, Mr Evans worked from the glass canopy to attach the lower fixings. During the course of this work, he walked along the canopy from right to left and fell through an opening above the Bedford Street entrance of the Debenhams store.

^[1]During the HSE prosecution, Exeter Crown Court heard the opening had been created during previous maintenance works when a pane of glass was removed from the canopy and had not been replaced. 

Mr Evans, from Penarth, South Glamorgan fell approximately 4.5metres through the canopy on to the granite setts below. He received serious injuries as a result of the fall and died later in hospital.

The subsequent HSE investigation found the mobile platform provided was inadequate for the work being carried out. The glass canopy on which Mr Evans was working was not a safe working platform as there was no edge protection and there was the large opening through which he subsequently fell. The court was also told neither of the two workers should have left the safety of the working platform basket.

Sir Robert McAlpine Ltd of Yorkshire House, Grosvenor Crescent, London pleaded guilty to breaching Section 3 (1) of HSWA 1974. It was fined £200,000 with £17, 790 costs

London Fenestration Trades Ltd of Clare Road, Grangetown, Cardiff pleaded guilty Section 2 (1) HSWA 1974. However, as the firm is in liquidation the court could only notionally fine it £200,000 with £17,790 costs. 

Firm prosecuted following the avoidable death of a roof worker

A Darwen firm have appeared in court after one of their employees, Graham Readfern died after falling from the roof of a partly completed loft conversion project in January 2012.

Newhey Loft Conversions Limited were prosecuted by the HSE after an investigation revealed that the scaffolding used to protect workers from a fall while carrying out roof work was not sufficient.

Minshull Street Crown Court heard that Newhey had been contracted to carry out a large loft conversion on a property in Chorlton, Manchester and their subcontracted employee, Mr Readfern, had fallen from the roof of the dormer conversion but was not caught by the scaffolding as it had not been built high enough to stop someone falling to the ground some 5 metres below.

Mr Readfern had been carrying a roll of roofing felt onto the newly built dormer window when the ladder he was using collapsed and he was catapulted over the scaffold handrail into a neighbouring garden. Although treatment was given, Mr Readfern died of his injuries 17 days later.

Newhey Loft Conversions Limited pleaded guilty to two breaches of the Health and Safety at Work Act 1974 and a breach of the Work at Height Regulations 2005.

Newhey Loft Conversions Ltd, of Lloyd Street Sawmills, Darwen, was fined £40,000 and ordered to pay £20,000 towards the cost of the prosecution.

 

‘A miracle he was not killed’ says judge as logistics firm fined

A logistics firm was fined £75,000 after a worker suffered life-changing injuries in a fall from a roof.

Andrew Bannister, who had worked for PK & IF Cobley Limited for 15 years, was worried about being sent up onto a fragile roof to repair cracks in it, but he was still instructed to do the work.

Leicester Crown Court heard Mr Bannister was sent to repair a fragile roof at Misterton Farm, Great Poultney, Leicestershire, without any means to prevent his fall from the roof edge or through the roof.

On 31 August 2012, Mr Bannister fell approximately 10 metres through the roof, landed on a concrete floor and suffered life-changing injuries, including a broken neck, back and three broken ribs.

PK & IF Cobley Limited, of Broughton Astley, Leicestershire, were found guilty of breaching regulation 4(1) of the Work at Height Regulations 2005.

The judge hearing the case said the work at height was obviously a dangerous job and that it was a miracle that Mr Bannister was not killed. As well as the fine of £75,000, he ordered the company to pay £29,351.88 in costs.

Businessman in court after worker loses forearm

A businessman has been sentenced after a worker lost his right forearm when it got caught and mangled in an unguarded tyre-shredding machine.

Mark Anton Arabaje, sole director of now-dissolved company Cartwright Projects Ltd, was prosecuted by the HSE after it found he had removed a protective guard from the dangerous machine only a couple of weeks earlier.

Canterbury Crown Court heard that father-of-four Nathan Johnson, 25, of Folkestone, was working at the firm’s premises at Unit 1 Shottenden Manor, Westwell, Ashford, Kent, on 27 November 2013 when the incident happened.

He had been putting tyres by hand into the shredder when the machine failed to grip one properly on its metal teeth. Mr Johnson grabbed the remaining half and fed it in. At that point, his right jacket sleeve got entangled on the metal teeth and his fingers and then forearm were dragged into the running shredder.

As Mr Johnson screamed for help, Mark Arabaje came and managed to switch the machine off and freed him from the machine.

He lost the forearm up to his elbow and needed extensive hospital treatment, including skin grafts from his left leg to replace the remains of his arm and a bolt in his elbow to ensure it remained intact.

The court was told Mr Johnson’s injuries could have been even worse if he had been working on his own that day, which regularly happened in the company, as there were no emergency stop switches within his reach at the time.

HSE’s investigation identified that Mark Arabaje had removed the metal bucket guard of the shredding machine earlier the same month, thus allowing easy access to the metal teeth.

HSE told the court it would have also prosecuted the company had it still existed.

Mark Arabaje, of Gatefield Cottages, Rolvenden, Cranbrook, Kent, pleaded guilty an at earlier hearing to an offence under the Health and Safety at Work etc Act 1974. On 17 July, he was sentenced to a four-month prison sentence, suspended for 12 months. He must observe a home curfew between the hours of 8pm and 6am and wear an electronic tag. The judge imposed a £5,000 compensation order that Arabaje must pay Mr Johnson.

Roofing contractor and director fined over brick-layer death

A roofing firm and its Director have been prosecuted after a worker fell to his death though a fragile roof-light.

Barry Tyson, a 52 year old self-employed brick-layer, suffered fatal head injuries as a result of the fall whilst he was working to refurbish the flat roof of Aspin Park School in Knaresborough.

Watershed (Roofing) Ltd a framework contractor for North Yorkshire County Council and one of its Directors, Steven John Derham from Bradford, had engaged Mr Tyson to carry out necessary brickwork on the roof, as part of a scheme to add insulation and re-felt it.   

Mr Tyson had been kneeling on the roof working when the incident happened on 16^th August 2011. When he stood up he fell backwards through a roof-light and into the boys’ toilet two metres below. He was taken to hospital by air ambulance but died later from his injuries.

Bradford Crown Court heard that a HSE investigation found Watershed had prepared a construction phase plan which stated that before work was carried out, the plastic domes of all roof-lights needed to be removed and the apertures boarded over to prevent falls, but when roofers accessed the roof it was found that the domes could not be easily removed. 

The court also heard Watershed’s Director Mr Derham visited the site on the first day to check it had been set up correctly, and the difficulties with removing the roof-lights were discussed with the workforce. It was decided that works could progress without any covering of the roof-lights.

Watershed (Roofing) Limited of Thornton Road in Bradford pleaded guilty to breaching section 3(1) of the Health and Safety at Work etc Act 1974, and were fined £80,000 and ordered to pay £39,381.32 in costs.

Mr Steven John Derham, 47, of Winterton Drive, Low Moor in Bradford pleaded guilty in his role as Director of the company to a breach of section 37(1) of the Health and Safety at Work etc Act 1974 and was fined £7000.

HSE Myth Busters:

Job Advert stated that Bus Drivers weight must be below 18 stone

Issue

The enquirer was recently looking at jobs and a bus company said that due to new Health and Safety rules, all new bus driver recruits must be below 18 stone in weight.

Panel opinion

There are no rules in health and safety legislation or in vehicle standards regulations which place weight limits on people driving buses. If such a "rule" exists it is a company policy and they should clearly explain their reasons for it not leave potential applicants to infer that it’s a "safety rule" imposed by others.

 

Lack of training caused life changing injuries

A tree specialist company, Oak View Tree Specialists Limited, has been fined after a skip loading dumper overturned severely injuring a worker.

Basildon Magistrates’ Court heard how the injured person, who was an employee at the company, was working at the rear of a house in Benfleet, Essex on 26 September 2014 when the incident occurred. The 19-year-old employee had only a few minutes training on the use of the dumper truck. He had no driving licence and was not wearing a safety belt when he overturned the vehicle.

He was airlifted to hospital where he was found to have broken his back. He spent months in hospital and his injuries are life-changing - it is not known if he will ever be able to walk again.

On 17 June 2015, Oak View Tree Specialists Limited, of Rayleigh, Essex, pleaded guilty to breaching Regulation 9(1) of the Provision and Use of Work Equipment Regulations 1998 as it failed to ensure that its employees received adequate training for the purposes of health and safety. The company was fined £3,000 with costs of £1,500. 

Window cleaning company fined for safety breaches

A window cleaning firm and its sole director have been fined for health and safety breaches after the company was employed to clean the windows at a nursing home.

The HSE successfully prosecuted Brian Stubbs (director) and Brian Stubbs and Company Limited at Stafford Magistrates’ Court after a window cleaner was observed standing on guttering on the outside of a balcony parapet wall on the third floor of a Nursing Home in Stafford, on 21 August 2014. An HSE investigation found that there was no suitable edge protection or other appropriate safety measures in place.

Mr Stubbs, of Westhead Avenue, Stafford, was fined a total of £660 and ordered to pay £867 costs after pleading guilty to breaching 3(1)(a) of The Management of Health and Safety at Work Regulations 1999.

Brian Stubbs and Company Limited was fined £660 and ordered to pay £846 in costs after pleading guilty to breaching 6(3) of the Work at Height Regulations 2005.

Brick manufacturer fined after worker injured

A brick manufacturer has been fined after one of its employees was seriously injured.  The incident, on 27 February 2014, occurred at Northcot Brick Limited’s site in Gloucester.

Stroud Magistrates’ Court heard that a 45-year-old worker sustained serious injuries to his right leg, with the partial loss of two toes, after either stepping onto or falling onto a recently-installed machine that breaks up clay.

A risk assessment had identified that the machinery required guarding or barriers, but these were not yet put in place.

Northcot Brick Limited was fined £18,500, plus costs of £7,500, after pleading guilty to a breach of Regulation 2(1) of the Health and Safety at Work etc. Act 1974.

 

 

 

HSE releases annual workplace fatality statistics

Provisional annual data for work-related fatal accidents in Great Britain’s workplaces shows small change from previous years, sustaining a long term trend that has seen the rate of fatalities more than halve over the last 20 years. 

Data released by the HSE reveals 142 workers were fatally injured at work between April 2014 and March 2015 (a rate of 0.46 fatalities per 100,000 workers). This compares to last year’s all-time low of 136 (0.45 fatalities per 100,000 workers). 

The statistics again confirm the UK to be one of the safest places to work in Europe, having one of the lowest rates of fatal injuries to workers in leading industrial nations. 

The new figures show the rate of fatal injuries in key industrial sectors:

·         25% of the annual fatalities were in the construction industry - a rate of 1.62 deaths per 100,000 workers.  The number of deaths was 35 which is a reduction versus previous years, averaging 45 in the past five years.

·         5 fatal injuries to waste and recycling workers were recorded – a rate of 4.31 deaths per 100,000 workers, compared to an average of 6 deaths in the past five years. 

HSE has also released the latest available figures on deaths from asbestos-related cancer. Mesothelioma, one of the few work related diseases where deaths can be counted directly, contracted through past exposure to asbestos killed 2,538 in Great Britain in 2013 compared to 2,548 in 2012. 

Demolition firm fined after worker died

Building contractor, Euro Dismantling Solutions Limited was fined for safety failings after a man lost his life during demolition works.[1]

Bristol Crown Court heard how demolition work was taking place at former Cadburys Somerdale factory near Bristol on 9 November 2011 when 31-year-old James Stacey drove a mini digger out of a fourth floor opening.

He was using the opening as part of a ‘drop zone’ to drop large fibreglass tanks that had been cut in half to the ground below. The opening was not properly protected to prevent the machine falling from the building and the tank got stuck on the digger and pulled the vehicle with it.  Mr Stacey died from his injuries.

Euro Dismantling Solutions Limited (now in liquidation) pleaded guilty to Section 3(1) of the Health and Safety at Work etc Act 1974 after they failed to ensure the safety of James Stacey whilst carrying out demolition work.  They were fined £80,000.

Site Supervisor, Paul Ben Priestley (54) was also charged under Section 7 of the Health and Safety at Work etc Act 1974 after failing to take reasonable care. He denied the charges but was sentenced at Bristol Crown Court on 21 May 2015 and was given a 12 month custodial sentence, suspended for two years and costs of £7,500.

Firm fined after a man fell through fragile roof onto concrete

A construction company was fined after a worker fell through a roof three metres onto a concrete floor below.

Reading Magistrates’ Court heard how Barski Developments Limited had been contracted to refurbish a number of industrial units at Slough Business Park in the autumn of 2013.

The work included cleaning and repair work to the multi pitched asbestos cement roofs over the units. The work was to be done by sub-contractors under the direct control of director of the company. A large part of the roof comprised of vertical polycarbonate skylights along the internal gutters of the roof.

During the work, 55-year-old sub-contractor, Stanislaw Jakubus, fell three metres through the fragile material to a concrete floor below. He suffered multiple injuries including cracked ribs and was unable to work for two months.

Barski Developments Limited, of Munster Road, London, pleaded guilty to breaching Regulation 4(1)(a) and 9(2)(a) of the Work at Height Regulations 2005 and was fined £20,000 with costs of £880 with £120 victim surcharge.

 

 

 

Construction firm fined after worker killed

A construction firm has been sentenced for serious safety failings after a worker was crushed to death when a 1.6 tonnes frame fell onto him during construction of a steel stair tower.

Daniel Hurley, then aged 31 years, was employed as a ground worker by a company sub-contracted by Morris & Spottiswood to work on a major development of flats and houses in Maryhill, Glasgow.

Glasgow Sheriff Court heard that Mr Hurley had been operating a ‘whacker’ machine to compact hard core next to an area where the structural steelwork for a stair tower was being erected on the site.

But after the steel frame had been lowered into position and the lifting chains released, it then began to tilt and fall towards Mr Hurley, pulling three anchor bolts clear out of the ground, while the fourth was snapped in half.

One of the steel erectors shouted a warning and Mr Hurley began to run, but he was struck by the top beam of the frame across his shoulders and neck forcing him down onto the ground and causing fatal crush injuries.

The incident, on 15 October 2009, was investigated by the HSE and Police Scotland, which found serious safety failings in the way Morris & Spottiswood Ltd as principal contractor had managed the project.

The court was told that the steel fabrication company sub-contracted to design the steelwork and a second company commissioned to erect it, were also both found to be at fault but had since ceased trading.

The investigation found that remaining foundation resin anchor bolts installed by Morris and Spottiswood Ltd were so poorly installed that they could be moved by hand and one was so loose that it was pulled out of the concrete foundation by the investigating inspector. The failure to check the bolts capacity by the sub-contractors combined with the chosen method of erection had contributed to the cause of the fatal collapse.

Morris & Spottiswood had failed to review the risk assessments and method statements submitted by the steelwork sub-contractor for the task and had failed to establish and maintain an exclusion zone around the steelwork while erection was being carried out.

Following the incident, Morris & Spottiswood Ltd contracted a specialist company to replace all of the anchor bolts they had previously installed for this phase of the project. Metal fence panels available on site were also used to create exclusion zones around any remaining steel erection works.

Morris & Spottiswood Ltd, of Helen Street, Glasgow, was fined £200,000 after pleading guilty to breaching Section 3(1) of the Health and Safety at Work etc. Act 1974.
 

Scaffolding company and client fined for unsafe practices

A property developer and the firm it contracted to erect scaffolding, have both been fined for safety breaches.

Chart Forte Court (West Ealing) Limited (CFC) was the client for the refurbishment of a building into a hotel. They contracted LS Scaffolders to erect the scaffold on the site before appointing a principal contractor to work on site, and by doing so CFC took the role of principal contractor themselves.

Hammersmith Magistrates’ Court heard how officers from Ealing Council observed very unsafe practices during the erection in November 2013 and asked the workers on site to stop before referring the matter to the HSE.

A Prohibition Notice was then served on LS Scaffolding by HSE.

The fact that work on the scaffold had now been prohibited meant that concerns arose in relation to the stability of the partially completed structure. Ealing Council Building Control were asked by the HSE to inspect the scaffold and duly served a Dangerous Structure Notice on Chart Forte Court (as owner of the site) requiring them to make safe or take down the scaffold by 18^th December 2013. 

However, before the scaffold could be taken down, the two companies involved would have to satisfy the HSE that this could be completed with a safe system of work in place, to be followed by competent scaffolders.

Despite being told by HSE the fact that that no such reassurance had yet been given to the HSE, LS Scaffolding proceeded to take the scaffold down anyway over the weekend of 15 December 2013.

It was being dismantled so unsafely on a busy high street full of shoppers, that members of the public asked the police to intervene, which they did.

When HSE arrived the following day, most of the scaffold was down but another Prohibition Notice was served as workers were still at risk of falls.

Chart Forte Court (West Ealing) Limited of Ashtons Road, Northwood pleaded Guilty to Regulation 22(1) (a) of the Construction (Design & Management) Regulations 2007 and were fined £18,000 with costs of £932 and a victim surcharge of £120.

L S Scaffolding Limited of Vicarage Farm Road, Hounslow pleaded guilty to Regulation 4(1) of the Work at Height Regulations 2005 and were fined £18,000 with costs of £964 and a victim surcharge of £120.
 

Firm fined after worker injured in fall

A London firm specialising in bespoke staircases has been sentenced for safety failings after a worker was injured when the personnel cage he was working in was knocked to the ground by an overhead crane.

The 30-year-old man, from Wembley, had been replacing and cleaning light fittings in the workshop of Elite Metalcraft Co Ltd in Walmgate Road, Perivale, London when the incident happened on 12 September 2014.

The personnel cage was knocked over by the overhead travelling crane and the worker was thrown from it, landing on the ground. He suffered severe cuts to his head, arms and right leg and was off work for three weeks. He has since recovered but still has scarring on his arms and leg.

The HSE carried out an investigation into the incident and prosecuted his employer Elite Metalcraft Co Ltd for safety failings.

Westminster Magistrates’ Court heard that the worker was cleaning the light fittings and replacing bulbs from a personnel cage raised on a lift truck, driven by a supervisor.

At the same time steel was being moved from one area of the factory to another using the overhead travelling crane. However, while one of the pieces of steel was being moved the crane came into contact with the personnel cage and knocked it over.

The court was told that the company had failed to properly plan and supervise the work to ensure it was carried out safely. In addition the company had previously been given advice from HSE about the safe use of personnel cages, in particular the need to consider hazards from the overhead cranes.

Elite Metalcraft Co Ltd, of Chamberlayne Road, London was fined £9,000 and ordered to pay costs of £1,563.72 after pleading guilty to breaching Regulation 4(1) of the Work at Height Regulations 2005. 

Roofer in court after workers potentially exposed to asbestos

A roofer has been fined after exposing workers, and the home owners, to potentially deadly asbestos fibres at a domestic property in Suffolk.

On 6 August 2014, David Cummings, t/a Cummings Flat Roofing, was commissioned to repair and re-roof a porch in Martlesham, Suffolk.

During the re-roofing work, his employees disturbed an asbestos insulation board as they were removing the underside of the porch canopy.

The HSE found that Mr Cummings had not arranged for a Refurbishment and Demolition Asbestos Survey for the job to determine if asbestos was present, and if so the type of asbestos present in the porch.  This was despite the homeowner advising Mr Cummings that he believed his porch contained asbestos.

As a result, Mr Cummings’ employees were unaware of the presence of the asbestos insulation board before starting work and potentially exposed the homeowners, and themselves, to asbestos fibres.

In addition, workers did not remove the asbestos insulation board in an appropriate manner, causing a significant amount of breakage to the board, and heavily contaminating the garden with asbestos fibres. As the workers did not control access to the area, asbestos fibres were liable to have been carried into the family’s home.

Mr Cummings, of Kesgrave, Ipswich, was fined £12,000 and ordered to pay £1,200 in costs plus a victim surcharge of £120 after pleading guilty to three breaches of the Control of Asbestos Regulations 2012.

 

 

 

Construction firm fined after workers injured 

A firm has been sentenced for safety failings after four workers were injured, one of them seriously, when a roof truss in a new extension collapsed during construction.

Four men working on the extension were caught in the collapse at premises in Coventry on 26 June 2014.

One man was trapped by his legs, two suffered minor injuries and the fourth, suffered severe grazing and a fracture to his lower spine which led to many painful months off work.

The principal contractor for the project was DP Designs Ltd who was prosecuted for safety failings following an investigation by the HSE.

The court heard that due to an omission during the planning and procurement process of the project, a critical structural truss had been overlooked. This led to the workers attempting to install the trusses in an unstable manner, but as soon as they realised it was an issue they stopped working in that area.

However, the following day, one of the trusses broke, causing a domino effect as several other trusses collapsed above the area where the men were working.

The investigation found that had the work been properly planned, organised and monitored, the collapse would not have occurred. Also, if appropriate fall prevention measures had been implemented correctly, the outcome would have been less severe.

DP Designs Ltd of Bromsgrove, Worcestershire, was fined a total of £24,000 and ordered to pay costs of £1,106.15 after pleading guilty to two offences, one breach of Regulation 25(1) of the Construction (Design and Management) Regulations 2007 and the other a breach of Regulation 6(3) of the Work at Height Regulations 2005.
 

Company in court after worker crushed under forklift truck 

A transport and storage firm has been prosecuted after a father-of-two died when a metal frame being loaded onto a lorry trailer fell on top of him.

Jonathan Newham, 52, of Skegness, died in hospital from head and chest injuries following the incident at George H Kime and Co Ltd in Wrangle, near Boston, Lincolnshire, on 10 July 2012.

The incident was investigated by the HSE and the company was charged with serious safety breaches.

Lincoln Crown Court heard that George H Kime and Co Ltd had transported a consignment of goods from Wiltshire to Wrangle in readiness for the items to be auctioned in Skegness.

Mr Newham and a colleague were using forklift trucks to move the goods, which were not on pallets, from the trailer to a second vehicle, as the trailer was needed elsewhere.

Mr Newham had moved a large metal-wheeled chassis, also known as a ‘dolly’, from the first trailer. His colleague then attempted to load the dolly onto the second trailer.

For unknown reasons, Mr Newham climbed onto the second trailer. As his colleague loaded the dolly onto the trailer with the forklift, it fell off the tines of the forklift truck, trapping and fatally injuring Mr Newham underneath.

HSE’s investigation identified that George H Kime and Co Ltd had failed to ensure the safety of their employees during the movement of the metal dolly. They had failed to plan and supervise the lift and there was no safe system of work in place for the movement of loads not placed on pallets. The forklift truck drivers were trained and competent to move items on pallets.

The court heard the Company should have made sure there was someone in charge who was qualified to plan the lift to ensure it was suspended securely, and to ensure that the item could be safely placed down after being moved. A properly planned and supervised lift would have resulted in the risks being identified and controlled and exclude people from the area. The court heard that whilst the company had some procedures in place, the absence of strong management systems meant that the Company was complacent about the risks and failed to ensure that the procedures were followed.

George H Kime and Co Ltd of Main Road, Wrangle, was fined £125,000 and ordered to pay £61,935 in costs after pleading guilty to breaching Section 2(1) of the Health and Safety at Work etc. Act 1974.

Firm fined after worker fell from scaffolding 

Roger Smith Installations Ltd of Warwickshire has been prosecuted after a worker fell four metres causing bleeding on the brain, damage to his lungs and ribs.

The incident happened at Stirling Avenue, Cubbington on 3 April 2014, when an employee of the company fell whilst working on a soffit and fascia installation. The platform he was working on fell from the ladder brackets which were supporting it. As a result the worker was badly injured.

On 16 June 2015, Nuneaton Magistrates Court heard that HSE’s investigation found that the equipment the company provided was not adequate. The equipment was being used with no guardrails, no toe boards were provided, and the equipment was not installed in line with the manufacturer’s instructions.   

Roger Smith Installations were found guilty of breaching regulation 4(1) of the Work at Height Regulations 2005 and was fined a total of £10,000 and ordered to pay full costs of £1,229 and a victim surcharge of £120.

 

Recycling company fined after worker loses arm 

A national recycling firm has been fined for safety failings which resulted in an agency worker losing his arm.

Philip Grace, age 43, of Liverpool, lost part of his right arm after the incident at Recresco Ltd’s Manisty Wharf site in Ellesmere Port, Cheshire, when it became trapped in a conveyor belt he was maintaining.

Liverpool Crown Court heard how, on 26 January 2014, Mr Grace’s safety glove got caught on a moving conveyor belt on the glass sorting machine on which he was carrying out maintenance.

His arm was pulled into the machine and severed from above the wrist and attempts to reattach his hand were unsuccessful. The extensive surgery Philip Grace has undergone to repair his arm has left the father of one with limited mobility and he lives in constant pain.

An investigation by the HSE found multiple failings by the company, which put their own and agency workers at risk. The company had failed to assess the risks associated with working on moving conveyor belts as well as ensuring the machinery across their site was properly guarded.

The company did not have a safe system of work in place and there was insufficient information, instruction or training relating to the conveyors, which routinely exposed their workers to dangerous situations.

Recresco Ltd, was fined £50,000 with costs £21,625.70 and a £120 victim surcharge after pleading guilty to breaching Regulation 2 and 3 of the Health and Safety at Work etc Act 1974.
 

HSE Myth Busters:

Issue
A local charity shop refused the enquirers donation of a plastic baby bath because ‘health and safety’ meant that the new purchaser could sue if their baby were injured after slipping in it.

Panel opinion
There are no health and safety rules which would restrict charity shops from accepting items like baby baths for resale. It's also hard to imagine circumstances in which their fear of litigation might manifest itself. They are of course at liberty to set their own policies on what goods they will or will not accept but they can't wash their hands like this and simply point to non-existent "health and safety" rules.