Recycling company director sentenced after worker loses leg
The director of a Halifax-based recycling company has been given a community order after a worker lost part of his left leg when it was crushed by machinery. Daisy Ning Bai, 43, the director of BW Recycling Limited, was told she must complete 160 hours of unpaid work after pleading guilty to health and safety […]
Recycling company fined £3m after one man died and another seriously injured
A recycling company has been fined after a man died and another was seriously injured while decommissioning a North Sea gas rig. Stephen Picken, 62, and Mark Kumar were working for Veolia ES (UK) Limited at an onshore facility in Great Yarmouth. Both men were working as demolition operatives also known as “Top Men”, undertaking […]
£240,000 fine for company after fall left man paralysed
A Cheshire-based electrical transmission company has been fined £240,000 after a man was left paralysed from the chest down after a fall at work. Gavin Pugh, from Bangor in North Wales, was 35 at the time of the incident and employed as a linesman by Wood Transmission and Distribution Limited. He had been demolishing and […]
Engineering firm fined after employee sustains serious injuries at HS2 site
An engineering firm has been fined after an employee suffered a fractured skull, hip, jaw and pelvis, while working at a HS2 construction site in Hertfordshire. The man, employed as a mechanical engineer by EMC Elite Engineering Services Ltd, had been repairing a conveyor at the site on Chalfont Lane, West Hyde when he fell […]
Company and director fined after worker fractures skull
A company and its director have been fined after an employee was struck by an object while manufacturing large steel cable drums for the offshore industry. The man, who is now 54, had been working for Code-A-Weld (Great Yarmouth) Ltd when the incident happened on 19 November 2022. Although the company had manufactured steel drums […]
Council fined as school technician loses finger
A local authority has been sentenced after a worker lost his finger while operating a machine. Adi Soday, a technician at The Forest School in Horsham, lost his right index finger when it was sliced off by a circular bench saw on 13 June 2022. The 29-year-old, who worked in the design and technology (DT) […]
Companies fined after 16-year-old worker exposed to asbestos
Two companies have been fined after a teenage worker was exposed to asbestos. The 16-year-old had been working for P Turnbull Joinery and Building Services Ltd on an outbuilding of a domestic property after the firm had been hired by Alt Berg Holding Limited to refurbish the property in Richmond, North Yorkshire. He had been […]
Company fined after delivery driver electrocuted
A company in Berkshire has been fined £30,000 after a father-of-four was electrocuted. Levi Alleyne (known as ‘Chunky’) lost his life while delivering crushed concrete at a construction site on Swallowfield Road, Reading, on 16 November 2020. Chunky was killed after the crane arm of his lorry came into close contact with an overhead power […]
Housing company fined after worker killed by concrete blocks
A housing company has been fined more than £300,000 after a driver was crushed to death by falling concrete blocks at a construction site in South Lanarkshire. Conor Joseph Morgan had been delivering materials to Shott Farm in High Blantrye, a construction site being operated by Avant Homes (Scotland) Limited, when the incident happened on […]
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 […]