Update on investigation into Birmingham fairground incident
The Health and Safety Executive (HSE) continues to investigate an incident involving a fairground ride in Birmingham City Centre. Twelve people were injured as a result of the incident on the evening of 12 December 2024. Two people were taken to hospital and discharged shortly after with minor injuries. The ride involved in this incident […]
School Academy Trust fined £300,000 after student death
A school academy trust has been fined £300,000 after a 19-year-old student died as a result of a ‘series of management failures’. Owen Garnett, who was described by his family as having “an incredible sense of humour” and who had “everything to live for” died two days after choking on a paper towel at Welcombe […]
Drinks giant fined after worker sustains serious burns
An international drinks manufacturer has been fined half a million pounds after an employee sustained burns to over 30% of his body. The mechanical engineer had been repairing a defective pump at Diageo’s Glenlossie Distillery Complex in Elgin on 24 March 2021 when he was burned by pot ale. The liquid, which had a temperature […]
Company fined after worker “full of hopes and dreams” dies at wind farm construction site
An engineering company has been fined after a labourer died during the construction of a wind farm on the Shetland Islands. Liam MacDonald, from Tain, Ross-shire, lost his life on the morning of 5 June 2022 while removing dried concrete from a skip at the Viking site on Upper Kergord. His mother has said the […]
Council fined after employees exposed to risks from vibrating tools
A worker who repaired potholes was diagnosed with Hand Arm Vibration Syndrome (HAVS), an occupational disease, following repeated exposure to vibration tools. This week, his employer, Rotherham Metropolitan Borough Council has been fined following a prosecution by the Health and Safety Executive (HSE). Sheffield Magistrates’ Court heard the employee worked in the road maintenance department, […]
Engineering company fined after ‘caring and loving’ man killed
A Blackburn-based engineering company has been fined £80,000 after a man described as ‘caring and loving’ by his family was killed after being crushed under a machine. Connor Borthwick, from Wigan, was working for Partwell Special Steels Limited at its site in Bruce Street when the incident happened on 25 November 2021. The 22-year-old and […]
Metal firm fined after injured worker loses leg
A metal fabrication company has been fined £40,000 after an employee suffered a serious leg fracture that led to a below the knee amputation. The 37-year-old man and a colleague had been loading a steel beam onto the bed of a lorry in the visitors car park of London Gates and Railings Ltd in Watford […]
Company and director sentenced for putting workers at risk
A roofing firm has been fined while its director has been handed a suspended prison sentence after putting the lives of workers at risk during a roof renovation in Surrey. Weather Master Roofing Limited and company director Jack Avanzo, also known as Jack Avenzo, were sentenced at Brighton Magistrates’ Court on Monday following a prosecution […]
Councils’ asbestos management to be assessed during inspection campaign
Hundreds of inspections at council buildings will be carried out by the Health and Safety Executive (HSE) to check councils are managing the risk of asbestos properly. HSE inspectors will visit the head offices of dozens of councils across the country to ensure asbestos risks are being managed effectively to keep people safe. Each council […]
Company failed to manage legionella risk as prisoner dies
A company has been fined after it failed to manage the risk of legionella bacteria in the hot and cold water systems at HMP Lincoln. The Health and Safety Executive (HSE) investigation followed the death of an inmate. Amey Community Limited has now been fined £600,000 after pleading guilty to a health and safety offence. […]
Company and contractor sentenced as failures led to evacuation in village
A company and a contractor have been fined following the evacuation of 30 homes in a Derbyshire village. Residents in Wessington were forced to leave their properties on 21 June 2022 after Elliott Kirk struck an underground gas main with a mechanical post knocker. Mr Kirk had been installing fencing around Belper Skip Hire Limited’s […]
Plastics manufacturer fined as worker suffers multiple leg fractures
A plastics manufacturer in Kent has been fined £400,000 after an employee was seriously injured by a forklift truck. The man was struck by the vehicle while walking to collect materials at FloPlast Limited’s site at Eurolink Business Park on 4 July 2023. The driver of the forklift truck failed to see the worker, who […]
Company fined £1.6m following the death of ‘happy-go-lucky’ 24-year-old
A company has been fined £1.6m after a 24-year-old man was crushed to death. Jack Phillips lost his life on 8 August 2019 while working for Brand Energy and Infrastructure Services UK Ltd at South Cliff Tower in Eastbourne. His parents say they are “no longer complete” following the loss of their “happy-go-lucky” son. Jack […]
Company fined after an explosion seriously injured two employees
A company which produces electricity from food waste by anaerobic digestion, has been fined more than £300,000 after an explosion caused two employees to suffer life changing injuries. The metal tank the two men were working on was projected high into the air before crashing to the ground nine seconds later. Footage of the blast […]
Two companies fined after man falls through roof of Salford skate park
Two companies have been fined more than £100,000 after a man fell 30 feet through a fragile skylight as he was working on a roof. Nicolas Vilela suffered multiple injuries in the incident at Graystone Action Sports Centre, on Brunel Avenue in Salford on 23 November 2022. Now 43, Mr Vilela had been fixing a […]
HSE publishes annual work-related ill health and injury statistics for 2023/24
The Health and Safety Executive (HSE) has today (Wednesday 20 November) published its annual statistics on work-related ill health and workplace injuries. The statistics reveal that the number of workers reported to be suffering from work-related ill health during 2023/24 is 1.7 million – which is similar to 2022/23 (1.8 million workers). The rate of […]
Wood panelling firm fined £400,000 after injured worker loses leg
A wood panel manufacturer has been fined £400,000 after a worker suffered life-changing injuries at its factory in Chirk, near Wrexham. The incident happened at Kronospan Limited on 31 March 2021, when a pack of waste MDF sheets weighing around 350kg fell from a trailer and landed on the left leg of Mark Hughes from […]
Ginsters owner fined £1.28m after employee crushed to death by lorry
The owner of Ginsters has been fined £1.28 million after an employee was killed by a lorry that was delivering supplies to the bakery where it makes its pasties. Paul Clarke was fatally crushed on 2 December 2021 after being struck by the vehicle as it reversed into a loading bay at The Cornwall Bakery, […]
Company fined after worker killed by telehandler
A construction company has been fined £160,000 after a man was killed by a telehandler at a house build site in Glasgow. Scott Bradley had been reversing the vehicle at the Stepford Road site when it slid down an embankment and overturned on 11 May 2022. The 44-year-old, employed by Merchant Homes Partnership Limited, had […]
Fine for council after man ‘who loved life’ killed by falling tree
Cheshire East Council (the council) has been fined £500,000 after ‘the most amazing man’ was killed by a falling tree. Christopher Hall, 48, from Wilmslow, was walking his dog in The Carrs – one of the town’s parks – on 28 August 2020, when the large limb of a tree fell and struck him. He […]