Cheshire farm owner fined after roofer dies in fall
A Cheshire farm owner has been fined after a man fell to his death from a forklift truck while attempting to repair the roof of a packing shed at his premises in Tarporley.
Denis Thornhill and his company D.S. Thornhill (Rushton) Limited were fined a combined £16,000 after 64-year-old Mark Young was killed at Moss Hall Farm on 1 February 2021.
Earlier this year, both Thornhill and the company been found guilty of breaching health and safety legislation following a six-week trial at Chester Crown Court. The jury cleared 78-year-old Thornhill on a charge of gross negligence manslaughter. They returned to the same court on 11 October 2024 to be sentenced.
During the trial, the court was told that on 29 January 2021, Mr Young, who worked as a roofer, had been asked to make repairs to a roof panel and fix a blocked gutter on the same building. However, as he was walking across the roof, he damaged a second roof panel so a replacement was purchased to carry out an additional repair.
Mark Young had been lifted up to the roof using this forklift truck
He returned with his son three days later to complete the work and asked to be raised up to do it. Denis Thornhill arrived with a forklift truck that had a potato box balanced on its forks. Mr Young was lifted up inside the potato box to a height of around 16 feet, while his son, who was on the roof, attempted to reposition the panel from above. As Mr Young moved to one side of the potato box, it caused it to overbalance and he fell to the floor sustained serious head injuries.
Although paramedics were called, they were unable to resuscitate him and he was pronounced deceased at the scene.
HSE Inspector Ian Betley said after the hearing: “This was a tragic incident that could so easily have been avoided.
“The forklift truck and potato box were the wrong pieces of equipment for the job and never a suitable platform for working at height. The work should instead have been carried out using a tower scaffold, scissor lift, or a cherry picker.
“In bringing the forklift truck and potato box and using it to lift Mark at height, the company was in control of the work but had failed to implement proper planning and safe execution of it.
“All companies have a legal duty to ensure the safety of workers they employ or who carry out work for them. If that had happened in this case, then Mark’s life wouldn’t have been lost.”
The potato box used to lift Mark Young was unsecured to the forklift truck with him inside it
A joint investigation by Cheshire Constabulary and the Health and Safety Executive (HSE) found that on the day of the accident there was no safe system of work implemented for working at height and unsuitable work equipment was used. The potato box did not have the required safety features for a non-integrated work platform and had not been secured in a way to prevent it overbalancing. Additionally, the forklift truck had not been subjected to a thorough examination at the required frequency and was unsuitable for lifting people and Denis Thornhill was not formally trained in operating the forklift truck. Enforcement action was taken and a Prohibition Notice was served on the company prohibiting further work until a safe system was devised.
Denis Thornhill of Eaton Lane, Tarporley, Cheshire was cleared of manslaughter but was also found guilty of breaching Section 37 of the Health and Safety at Work etc. Act 1974, by virtue of 37(1) of the Act and was fined £4,000 and ordered to pay costs of £4,000.
D.S. Thornhill (Rushton) Limited of Moss Hall Farm, Moss Hall Lane, Tarporley, Cheshire was found guilty of breaching Section 3(1) of the Health and Safety at Work etc. Act 1974 and was fined £12,000 and ordered to pay costs of £10,000.
Notes to editors:
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.
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 in England and Wales can be found here and for those in Scotland here.
Cosmetics firm fined after HSE inspection found serious failings
A cosmetics company in Yorkshire has been fined more than £50,000 after an inspection by Britain’s workplace regulator uncovered serious electrical failings.
Inspectors from the Health and Safety Executive (HSE) conducted an unannounced inspection at the premises of Sabel Cosmetics Limited on Pellon Lane in Halifax on 5 July 2022.
During the visit, the inspectors uncovered electrical deficiencies that posed serious risks of both electric shock and electrocution to workers.
HSE found there was a systemic failure within the company to address the risks identified with the electrical systems
A subsequent investigation by HSE found there was a systemic failure within the company to address the risks identified with the electrical systems. The inadequate construction and maintenance of the electrical system at the premises presented an immediate risk of employees coming into direct contact with exposed live parts on equipment and machinery within the company premises. The company allowed the breaches to subsist over a long period of time.
Sabel Cosmetics Ltd of Pellon Lane, Halifax, West Yorkshire pleaded guilty to breaching Regulation 4 (1) of the Electricity at Work Regulations 1989. The company was fined £56,695 and ordered to pay £5,949 in costs at Leeds Magistrates Court on 10 October 2024.
After the hearing, HSE inspector Andrea Jones commented: “This case shows the importance of HSE inspections to help ensure health and safety risks are being managed effectively and protect people at work.
“It is essential that electrical wiring installations and electrical equipment are constructed and maintained in a safe condition to prevent injuries or even worse, death.
“In this case, simple inexpensive steps could have been taken to remedy the most serious defects, instead the company’s inaction has resulted in more than £60,000 in fines and costs.”
Notes to editors:
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.
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 in England and Wales can be found here and for those in Scotland here.
Leading sandwich bread baker fined after worker loses finger
A nationwide bakery has been fined more than £360,000 after one of its employees lost a finger in machinery at a site in Northamptonshire.
Jacksons Bakery, a leading supplier of bread used in the commercial making of sandwiches, was given the fine after an engineer had a finger on his right hand caught in a flour sifting machine.
The then 31-year-old was assisting colleagues as they attempted to maintain the machine by clearing a blockage at the plant in Corby on 2 February 2023. Following removal of a guard, as the engineer assisted with the task, he checked the tension of a drive belt and his hand got pulled around the bottom pully which resulted in the amputation of part of his right middle finger. The engineer was unaware that the machine had been switched back on.
The worker caught a finger in the pully on a flour sifter machine
An investigation by the Health and Safety Executive (HSE) found that Jacksons Bakery Limited failed to ensure, so far as is reasonably practicable, the health, safety and welfare of all their employees.
In this instance there was a failure to implement a safe system of work ensuring that machinery was isolated and then locked off during maintenance work when fixed guards would be removed.
Additionally, HSE found that engineers were unclear on when to isolate and ‘lock out tag out’ machines due to an absence of adequate training and instruction – and the fact that it was custom and practice to not robustly isolate and lock off illustrated an absence of adequate supervision and monitoring.
Jacksons Bakery Limited of The Riverside Building, Liverstone Road, Hessle, East Yorkshire, HU13 0DZ, pleaded guilty to contravening a requirement of section 2(1) of the Health and Safety at Work etc Act 1974.
The company was fined £366,666 and was ordered to pay £5,386 costs at a hearing at Wellingborough Magistrates Court on 3 October 2024.
After the hearing, HSE inspector Rebecca Gibson said “This unnecessary incident highlights the duty on employers to ensure that there are robust procedures in place relating to maintenance activities.
“If an appropriate ‘lock out tag out’ procedure had been produced and implemented and with suitable training, the serious injury would have been avoided.”
This prosecution was brought by HSE enforcement lawyer Samantha Wells and supported by HSE paralegal, Rebecca Withell.
Notes to editors:
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.
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 in England and Wales can be found here and for those in Scotland here.
Manufacturing company fined as worker suffers six bone fractures
A manufacturing company has been fined after an employee broke his arm while operating machinery at its site in Warwickshire.
Andrew Elson, from Rugby, suffered multiple fractures to the ulna and radius bones in his right arm while working at Screening Consultancy and Supplies Ltd on 25 November 2022.
1. The radial arm drill that caused Andrew Elson’s injuries
The 54-year-old had been clearing debris off the bed of a radial arm drill at the firm’s site on Somers Road in Rugby, when his right hand became entangled in the machine.
This led to Mr Elson sustaining six different bone fractures in his right hand and arm, that required surgery.
2. An X-ray of Andrew Elson’s hand showing his hand and arm fractures
He said: “I totally lost my independence for around two months and my wife had to do everything.
“I don’t know what the future holds. I work a manual job with my hands, I don’t know how long I can continue to do this for.
“I still have trouble using my hands and fingers, and sometimes I wake up and they are stiff, numb, and achy.”
An investigation by the Health and Safety Executive (HSE) found Screening Consultancy and Supplies Ltd had failed to undertake a suitable and sufficient assessment of the risk associated with this work activity, and subsequently failed to implement a safe system of work.
3. Andrew Elson sustained six different bone fractures to his right hand and arm
Screening Consultancy and Supplies Ltd, of Somers Road, Rugby, Warwickshire, pleaded guilty to breaching Section 2(1) of the Health and Safety at Work etc. Act 1974. The company was fined £28,000 and ordered to pay costs of £3,616 at Birmingham Magistrates’ Court on 19 September 2024.
HSE inspector Charlie Rowe said: “This prosecution highlights how employers should adequately assess the risks and then ensure they have a safe system of work in place for the operation of all machinery.”
This prosecution was brought by HSE enforcement lawyer Chloe Ward and Neenu Bains, and supported by paralegal officer Melissa Wardle.
Notes to editors:
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.
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.
Manufacturing company fined £15,000 for wood dust failures
A manufacturing company has been fined £15,000 after exposing its own workers to wood dust and failing to comply with two improvement notices.
Wood dust can cause serious and often irreversible health problems, including sino-nasal cancer, asthma and dermatitis. Employers have a legal responsibility to prevent or adequately control exposure in the workplace.
After concerns were raised to the Health and Safety Executive (HSE), inspectors from the workplace regulator went to Billy Davidson NV Stables Limited’s premises in Wingate, Durham on 17 June 2022. As a result, notices were served on the firm requiring it to undertake an examination of the local exhaust ventilation (LEV) system fitted to a chop saw and for failing to control exposure to wood dust from the use of a circular table saw.
Proper dust extraction can include having the right machinery, and vacuuming dust instead of sweeping is often required. HSE’s easy-to-follow guidance can be found here.
Despite the action taken by HSE, when inspectors returned to the site on 12 January 2023, the circular saw was still being used, despite the company saying it had been taken out of use. Likewise, the chop saw and LEV was also still being used, and the company had not provided HSE with confirmation it had been examined and was adequately controlling wood dust exposure.
The subsequent HSE investigation found the company had shown a disregard for health and safety due to their failure to comply with the improvement notices.
Billy Davidson NV Stables Limited was found guilty of contravening two counts of Section 33(1)(g) of the Health and Safety at Work etc Act 1974 and Regulations 9(2) and 7(1) of the Control of Substances Hazardous to Health Regulations 2002. The company was fined £15,000 and ordered to pay £4,500 in costs at Peterlee Magistrates Court on 24 January 2024.
Speaking after the hearing, HSE inspector Clare Maltby said: “This company showed a blatant disregard to the safety of its own workers.
“Companies are responsible for controlling the exposure to wood dust, a substance which is hazardous to health and can cause long term health effects such as occupational asthma.
“Compliance could have been achieved by simply getting a LEV fitted to the circular table saw and getting a competent person to undertake a thorough examination and test of the LEV on the chop saw.
“This case demonstrates that we will not hesitate to prosecute companies who fail to comply with the law.”
Notes to Editors:
The Health and Safety Executive (HSE) is Britain’s national regulator for workplace health and safety. We prevent work-related death, injury and ill health through regulatory actions that range from influencing behaviours across whole industry sectors through to targeted interventions on individual businesses. These activities are supported by globally recognised scientific expertise.
More information about the legislation referred to in this case is available.
Company director avoids prison over wood dust failures
The director of a Norwich woodworking company has avoided an immediate spell behind bars after he exposed his employees to harmful wood dust.
Wood dust can cause serious and often irreversible health problems, including sino-nasal cancer, asthma and dermatitis. Employers have a legal responsibility to prevent or adequately control exposure in the workplace.
John Risby, the director of Turners and Moore Limited, was given a four month custodial sentence, suspended for two years, at Norwich Magistrates Court. The 33-year-old’s company was also fined £40,000.
The Health and Safety Executive (HSE) carried out an inspection at the firm’s Hurricane Way site on November 2017, which identified significant failings in its measures to control exposure of employees to wood dust. Enforcement action was taken, however a subsequent inspection in August 2022 showed the company had failed to maintain standards and further enforcement action was taken.
Turners and Moore Limited of Hurricane Way, Norwich was fined £40,000 after pleading guilty to breaches of Sections 2 (1) and 3 (1) of the Health and Safety at Work Act 1974. The company must also pay £2,000 in costs. Director John Risby was given a four month custodial sentence, suspended for two years. He will also pay costs of £1,100 for breaching section 37 of the same Act.
After the hearing, HSE inspector Natalie Prince said: “This outcome should send a strong message out to anyone with a responsibility for protecting workers.
“Exposure to wood dust can cause serious ongoing health problems and businesses must do all that they can to protect their workers.
“This outcome should underline to those in the woodworking industry that the courts, and HSE, take a failure to protect the health of employees extremely seriously and will not hesitate to take action against companies that fail to do so.”
This HSE prosecution was brought by HSE enforcement lawyer Gemma Zakrzewski and paralegal officer Sarah Thomas.
Notes to Editors:
The Health and Safety Executive (HSE) is Britain’s national regulator for workplace health and safety. We prevent work-related death, injury and ill health through regulatory actions that range from influencing behaviours across whole industry sectors through to targeted interventions on individual businesses. These activities are supported by globally recognised scientific expertise.
More information about the legislation referred to in this case is available.
A company in Peterborough has been fined £67,000 after a young employee lost his life.
George Setchfield was found unconscious over the side of a large container while working for Electrostatic Magic Limited at the firm’s site in Peterborough.
George’s mum says his passing has affected “every aspect” of her life.
The 21-year-old had entered the company’s stripping shed, which housed an Intermediate Bulk Container (IBC) containing alloy wheel stripper.
He was later found by his manager slumped over the side of the IBC, and could not be revived.
Twenty-one-year-old George Setchfield was found dead in work
George had sustained multiple organ failure and chemical pneumonitis and cutaneous burns from exposure to dichloromethane, hydrofluoric acid and methanol.
An investigation by HSE found that Electrostatic Magic Limited had failed to control exposure to dichloromethane and hydrofluoric acid. It would have been reasonably practicable for the company to have installed local exhaust ventilation (LEV), used a hoist or long-handled tools to lower and lift parts in and out of the tank, provide pumped chemical systems to prevent the need to lean into the IBC and finally ensure that any Personal Protective Equipment (PPE) or Respiratory Protective Equipment (RPE) provided was suitable for the environment it was being used in.
George had entered the company’s stripping shed, which housed an Intermediate Bulk Container (IBC) containing alloy wheel stripper.
George’s Mum, Amanda Foster, told Peterborough Magistrates’ Court: “Trying to find some level of justice for George has taken over my entire life. I have spent hours going into detail, reviewing, rereading and making notes about how George died and how it should have been prevented.
“This is something that I struggle to accept, how has this been able to happen to my son? George’s death has affected every aspect of my life. It has left me with a constant feeling of emptiness and devastation. It will shadow my future forever and I know that my life will never be as it once was. It has shattered my family’s lives and changed everyone’s life who knew and loved George.”
Electrostatic Magic Limited, of Ivatt Way, Westwood, Peterborough, pleaded guilty to breaching Regulation 7(1) of the Control of Substances Hazardous to Health Regulations 2002 and Article 67 of the REACH regulation. The company was fined £67,000 and ordered to pay £7,231 in costs at Peterborough Magistrates’ Court on 19 January 2024.
HSE inspector Tom Pouncey said: “Our thoughts today are with the family of Mr Setchfield, a young man, who should have returned home safely to his family at the end of his working day, but because of the failings of Electrostatic Magic Limited, he did not, and his family are understandably heartbroken.”
“Awareness within the alloy wheel stripping industry of the importance of using appropriate control measures and the dangers of this cold stripping process needs to improve.
“Companies need to understand the dangers of working with hazardous chemicals and ensure employees are not unnecessarily exposed. Deaths can result from working with Dichloromethane-based stripping fluids. HSE will be inspecting businesses carrying out similar work to ensure suitable health and safety arrangements are in place. If they are not then HSE will take appropriate action.”
This prosecution was brought by HSE enforcement lawyer Jon Mack and supported by HSE paralegal officer Rebecca Forman.
Notes to editors:
The Health and Safety Executive (HSE) is Britain’s national regulator for workplace health and safety. We prevent work-related death, injury and ill health through regulatory actions that range from influencing behaviours across whole industry sectors through to targeted interventions on individual businesses. These activities are supported by globally recognised scientific expertise.
More information about the legislation referred to in this case is available.
Arriva and cleaning firm fined after worker killed at bus depot
A national bus company and a commercial cleaning firm have been fined after a “much loved young man” was killed at a depot in Hemel Hempstead.
Albin Trstena, from Tottenham, was working for Cordant Cleaning Limited, when he was hit by a reversing bus being driven by a colleague on 5 November 2019.
The 25-year-old had been working in the yard of Arriva’s Hemel Hempstead bus depot when the vehicle was reversed out of the wash down area. He sustained fatal injuries.
Twenty-five-year-old Albin Trstena was killed by a reversing bus at Arriva’s bus depot in Hemel Hempstead
In a statement read at St Albans Magistrates’ Court, Albin’s sister Albina said how his death had been ‘devastating’ for their family.
“When we received the news Albin had died, we were left devastated and our whole world came crashing down around us,” she said.
“His presence at home was so alive.
“Albin would always do lots for the family, but not just for the family, he gave of himself and would always help other people where he could.
“He was a brother and son to be proud of.”
An investigation by the Health and Safety Executive (HSE) found that Arriva failed to properly assess the risk of vehicle-pedestrian conflict, and both they and Cordant Cleaning Limited, subsequently known as C.L.C Realisations Limited, failed to implement a suitable system of work to control this risk.
There were also insufficient measures in place to protect pedestrians from vehicles being moved around the depot and to ensure that walkways within the perimeter of the yard were being utilised.
C.L.C Realisations Limited of Wellington Street, Leeds (in administration) offered no plea but was found guilty of breaching Section 2(1) of the Health and Safety at Work Act 1974 and fined a nominal £1,000.
Arriva Kent Thameside Limited of Doxford International Business Park, Sunderland, pleaded guilty to breaching Section 3(1) of the Health and Safety at Work Act 1974 and have been fined £32,000 and ordered to pay costs of £22,392.
HSE inspector Roxanne Barker said: “This tragic incident led to the avoidable death of a much loved young man.
“There was a failure to undertake safety measures to segregate vehicles and pedestrians.
“They also failed to properly consider who was responsible for determining and implementing suitable measures to ensure safe working practices when contracting out some of the activities performed within a shared workplace.”
Notes to Editors:
The Health and Safety Executive (HSE) is Britain’s national regulator for workplace health and safety. We prevent work-related death, injury and ill health through regulatory actions that range from influencing behaviours across whole industry sectors through to targeted interventions on individual businesses. These activities are supported by globally recognised scientific expertise.
More information about the legislation referred to in this case is available.
The final month of the year has seen the Health and Safety Executive (HSE) conclude complex prosecutions against two care settings. December also saw cases relating to two frightening offshore incidents that resulted in fines totalling more than £1million. Another prosecution came about after a member of the public captured shocking footage on their mobile phone of a dangerous disregard to safety while working at height.
Care home fined £125,000 after teenager’s death
James and Melissa Mathieson
A care home in Bristol was fined for not doing enough to keep people safe from vulnerable patients who posed a danger to themselves and others.
The complex HSE investigation and prosecution followed the death of Melissa Mathieson at Alexandra House on 12 October 2014. Jason Conroy murdered the 18-year-old and was jailed for life the following year, following a Crown Prosecution Service case.
Both Melissa and Jason were fairly new residents at the home having both moved there in August 2014, Melissa from Crawley, and Jason from a school in Shropshire.
Construction fined after failing to provide basic facilities to workers
A Cheshire construction company was fined £5,000 after it failed to provide workers with adequate welfare facilities.
C.B. Homes Limited was carrying out work at a site on Bunbury Lane in Alpraham when it was visited by the Health and Safety Executive (HSE) on 23 March 2023. The proactive inspection found the company had failed to provide workers with adequate facilities for workers to wash their hands.
It wasn’t the first time the Tarporley-based company had failed to provide such facilities with enforcement action being taken by HSE on three other occasions. It is a legal duty for companies to provide workers with suitable welfare facilities.
Roofing firm and company business partner sentenced following HSE investigations
A roofing company was fined a total of £881,000 after two workers were seriously injured during two separate incidents.
Billy Hewitt, a worker at Mitie Tilley Roofing Limited, fractured his pelvis after falling through a factory roof in Newcastle. Meanwhile, a 24-year-old labourer employed by RM Scaffolding broke his femur after falling through the roof of a building in Swansea while working on a project run by Mitie Tilley Roofing Limited.
The HSE investigated both incidents and prosecuted Mitie Tilley Roofing Limited. Paul Robinson, a business partner at RM Scaffolding, was also prosecuted following the incident in Swansea.
Fines for repair firm and its director after man crushed at London garage
Company director Seyit Dilek left him standing under the vehicle while it was raised on a vehicle lift
A garage was fined £12,000 after a customer was crushed by his own vehicle at a garage in North London.
Tottenham resident Mahmut Emanet is “lucky to be alive”, according to HSE inspector Michelle Morphy.
The 62-year-old spent six days in a critical care unit after he sustained serious crush injuries in the incident. He has been left with permanent and life changing injuries.
Leading textiles firm hit with £100,000 fine after worker loses hand
A linen services company has been fined £100,000 after a man’s hand had to be amputated.
Scott Drummond, from Rhyl, North Wales, suffered serious injuries to his hand after it became trapped in machinery at the laundry operated by Johnsons Textile Services Limited in Bumpers Lane, Chester, on 24 June 2021. The injuries were so serious that his hand was later surgically amputated above the wrist.
The 45-year-old had been investigating a fault on a large commercial dryer when he was caught by the machine.
Newport City Council fined £2million after death of much loved family man
Stephen Bell was working for Newport City Council when he was killed
Newport City Council was fined £2million after “a hardworking man who loved his family very much” was killed while carrying out road repair works.
Stephen Bell was barrowing tarmac from the back of the local authority’s tipper lorry when he was struck by a farm vehicle passing the road works.
The 57-year-old’s wife Jenny said how the events of 18 July 2019 had changed their family’s life forever.
“I do not have the words to express the pain my family and I felt when we heard the news and losing him so suddenly has taken its toll on us all and has left us all heart broken,” she said.
Offshore companies fined after grandfather injured on North Sea gangway
The damaged boot Mr Hill had been wearing at the time of the incident
Two offshore companies were fined a combined total of more than £1.2m after an offshore worker’s feet were crushed while walking along a gangway over the North Sea.
HSE prosecuted both Shell and Ampelmann Operations following the incident off the Norfolk coast on 17 October 2017.
Martin Hill, a grandfather of eight from Norwich, says he now struggles to go on walks and carry out simple DIY tasks as a result of his injuries.
Farming business fined after a walker dies in cattle incident
Marian Clode
A farming business was fined after a member of the public died after being butted several times by a cow in front of two onlooking grandchildren.
Marian Clode, 61, was on a family walk on 3 April 2016 when the attack happened on a public bridleway in Northumberland. She died in hospital three days later.
The family had been staying at a cottage at Swinhoe Farm, Belford and said Marian “was dearly loved and still so sadly missed.”
North Wales health board fined after failings resulted in woman’s death
Dawn Owen
One of the largest health boards in Wales was given a £200,000 fine after a patient died in its care.
Llandudno Magistrates’ Court heard that 46-year-old Dawn Owen was found unconscious at the Hergest Unit – a secure mental health unit – at Ysbyty Gwynedd in Bangor on 20 April 2021.
Dawn’s family have called on Betsi Cadwaladr University Health Board to act on the findings of the HSE investigation, calling her death ‘wholly avoidable’ and ‘completely unnecessary’.
Company fined after worker spotted on pallet raised by forklift truck
A company has been fined after shocked onlookers spotted an employee precariously working from height while standing on a pallet raised by a forklift truck at Ramsgate Harbour.
HSE was alerted to the activity after it was reported by a member of the public, who managed to capture the terrifying debacle on video.
The worker was part of a team of three at EAP Limited that were removing work equipment from the deck of a boat in the harbour’s slipway.
Offshore drilling company fined after crane boom collapse
Damage to the lifeboats following the collapse
An offshore drilling company has been fined after a crane boom collapsed catastrophically.
Nobody was hurt in the incident on 31 March 2016 but a chaotic scene ensued after the collapse of the Rowan Gorilla VII’s boom, with flying debris damaging a nearby vessel, whipping a hose out of control before it ruptured, leaving a cloud of cement dust.
It happened offshore in the North Sea as staff were preparing to recover a faulty submersible pump.
HSE inspectors described the incident as an “accident waiting to happen”.
A company in Leicestershire has been fined £900,000 after a father-of-two was crushed to death.
Lee Benham died on 4 November 2021 while attempting to move a scissor lift at Nationwide Platform Limited’s workshop in Liskeard, Cornwall.
The 45-year-old LGV driver had operating a scissor lift from the ground to clear an access path so he could move pieces of machinery out of the workshop and load it onto his lorry in the yard.
Lee’s wife, Kelly Benham, said: “There are no words that can describe when you have had your heart ripped out.”
Food company fined £360,000 after worker loses consciousness
A company in Fife which grows and prepares vegetables has been fined £360,000 after a worker was dragged into a machine and lost consciousness.
Remigiusz Cyrek, a hygiene operative at Kettle Produce Limited, was undertaking a routine clean of a machine that makes carrot batons on 22 June 2018. The 37-year-old was trapped by a giant roller after being dragged into the machine at the company’s premises at Orkie Farm, in Freuchie.
Mr Cyrek had been cleaning part of the conveying machinery which had not been isolated from the power supply. The hood of his waterproof jacket became entangled in a moving power driven roller, causing it to tighten around his neck and resulting in him losing consciousness. The incident left the Polish national unable to work for six months afterwards.
An investigation by the Health and Safety Executive (HSE) found that Kettle Produce Limited had failed to provide a safe system of work for employees who were cleaning the machinery. A safe system of work should ensure that cleaning activities are not carried out whilst the machinery was moving, and that all parts were isolated and locked-off from the power supply.
Kettle Produce Limited, of Balmalcolm Farm, Cupar, Fife, pleaded guilty to breach Section 2(1) and Section 33(1)(a) of the Health and Safety at Work etc Act 1974. The company was fined £360,000 at Dundee Sheriff Court on 23 November 2023.
HSE inspector Kerry Cringan said: “This incident could so easily have been avoided by simply carrying out correct control measures and safe working practices.
“While cleaning is an essential part of food processing, hygiene operatives should not be exposed to risks from unguarded moving parts.
“Companies should be aware that we will not hesitate to take appropriate enforcement action against those that fall below the required standards.”
Notes to Editors:
The Health and Safety Executive (HSE) is Britain’s national regulator for workplace health and safety. We prevent work-related death, injury and ill health through regulatory actions that range from influencing behaviours across whole industry sectors through to targeted interventions on individual businesses. These activities are supported by globally recognised scientific expertise.
More information about the legislation referred to in this case is available.
