A waste and recycling company has been fined £400,000 after a council worker was crushed at a waste facility in London.
Paul McDaid, an Enfield Council employee, was working at the London Energy Ltd transfer station in Edmonton, London, on 13th May 2022 when a shovel loader reversed into him. The 58-year-old had been closing the tailgate on his tractor after tipping waste into a nearby bay, when the vehicle reversed without realizing he was there and crushed him between both vehicles. He sustained very serious injuries.
The company was undergoing major construction work and the area where the incident occurred was a temporary unit. An investigation by the Health and Safety Executive (HSE) found the work was not suitably risk assessed and appropriate control measures were not implemented.
The investigation also found the company had also failed to implement suitable controls to segregate pedestrians and vehicles for which detailed guidance is available. Where vehicles and pedestrians share a traffic route there must be enough separation between them. This can normally be achieved through the use of physical barriers and safe systems of work. Relevant guidance can be found here Workplace transport – HSE.
London Energy Ltd of Ecopark, Advent Way, Edmonton, London, pleaded guilty to breaching Section 3(1) of the Health and Safety at Work etc. Act 1974. The company was fined £400,000 and ordered to pay £5,573 in costs at Westminster Magistrates’ Court on 27 June 2025.
HSE inspector Pippa Knott said: “Due to the failings of this company a man has been left with very serious injuries.
“They failed to segregate pedestrians and vehicles, putting both employees and council workers at risk.
“Too many workers are injured every year as a result of being struck by moving vehicles which could be avoided by implementing suitable control measures.”
The HSE prosecution was brought by HSE enforcement lawyer Rebecca Schwartz and paralegal officer Helen Hugo.
Further information:
- The Health and Safety Executive (HSE) is Britain’s national regulator for workplace health and safety. We are dedicated to protecting people and places, and helping everyone lead safer and healthier lives.
- More information about the legislation referred to in this case is available.
- Further details on the latest HSE news releases is available.
- Relevant guidance can be found here Workplace transport – HSE.
- HSE does not pass sentences, set guidelines or collect any fines imposed. Relevant sentencing guidelines must be followed unless the court is satisfied that it would be contrary to the interests of justice to do so. The sentencing guidelines for health and safety offences can be found here.