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 […]
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 […]
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, […]
Company fined after 21-year-old worker dies
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 […]
NHS trust fined after employee found unconscious in manhole
Kettering General Hospital NHS Foundation Trust has been fined £480,000 after an employee suffered a brain injury after he was found unconscious in a manhole. The man had been unblocking a drain at the hospital on 1 February 2022 when he was discovered by other members of staff. He was rescued from the manhole by […]
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 […]
Monthly roundup – December 2023
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 […]
Company and director sentenced after worker fractures arm and leg
A company and its director have been sentenced after an employee fell from height and suffered serious injuries. Andrew Smith fractured his left femur, left elbow, left arm and pelvis after falling approximately three metres off a ladder on 28 July 2021. He had been working for Profascias Ltd at Park Lane Primary School in […]
North Wales health board fined after failings resulted in woman’s death
One of the largest health boards in Wales has been fined £200,000 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 […]
Roofing firm and company business partner sentenced following HSE investigations
Company fined for failings in two separate incidents. Two workers seriously injured after falling through roofs in separate incidents. Business partner at scaffolding firm sentenced following incident in Swansea. A roofing company has been fined a total of £881,000 after two workers were seriously injured during two separate incidents. Billy Hewitt, a worker at Mitie […]
Company fined as stunt performer sustains life-changing injuries during filming of Fast and Furious movie
A production company has been fined after a stunt performer was injured during the filming of Fast and Furious 9: The Fast Saga. Joe Watts, from Surrey, sustained life-changing injuries after he fell approximately 25 feet at Warner Bros. studios in Leavesden, Hertfordshire on 22 July 2019. He had been filming a fight scene for […]
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 […]
Company fined as HSE inspection identifies failures
A manufacturing business in Lincolnshire has been fined for failing to protect its workers from hazardous substances. A Health and Safety Executive (HSE) inspection of W.S. Barrett and Son Limited’s site at Riverside Industrial estate in Boston, Lincolnshire, found the company’s workers were being potentially exposed to welding fume and dusts from powder coating. Welding […]
McCain Foods fined after employee loses fingers
A frozen food company has been fined £700,000 after an employee lost two of his fingers following an incident at the firm’s premises in Lincolnshire. Tom Matthews, from Grantham, now champions health and safety in his current job at a different company, warning others to avoid his misfortune. He had been working a night shift […]
Priory Healthcare fined following patient death
The company that runs The Priory Hospital has been fined for failing to ensure the safety of patients on the hospital’s Emerald Ward following the death of 21-year-old Francesca Whyatt. Francesca, from Knutsford in Cheshire, was found unconscious at The Priory Hospital in Roehampton, London. She died three days later. Priory Healthcare has been fined […]