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 […]
Man spared jail for carrying out unsafe work on his own home
A man has been given a suspended sentence after he carried out unsafe work on an extension to his own home in Manchester. Abdul Rehman engaged operatives to help him build an extension to the property on Kings Crescent in Old Trafford – which was in addition to replacing the roof on the existing semi-detached […]
Equipment supplier fined after worker injured
A company in Aberdeen has been sentenced after an employee sustained serious injuries. Miroslaw Pancyzk fractured both of his wrists and sustained a fractured middle finger on his right hand while working for Harper UK (Aberdeen) Ltd at the firm’s premises on 4 April 2022. He had been using a piece of emery paper to […]
Construction company fined £2.345m after worker drowned in river
A construction company has been fined following the death of a worker. Gary Webster lost his life two days after drowning in the River Aire on 30 October 2017. Mr Webster and another worker had been on a boat removing debris at the bottom of the weir gates at Knostrop Weir when their boat capsized. […]
Car wash firm fined for failing to protect workers and the public
A car wash firm in Devon has been fined £40,000 after it repeatedly failed to protect workers and members of the public from electrical safety risks. Investigators from the Health and Safety Executive (HSE) carried out multiple visits to Best Car Wash Ltd in Tavistock between July 2021 and November 2022. They found employees were […]
Openreach fined following death of engineer
Openreach Limited has been fined £1.34 million after an engineer died whilst trying to repair a telephone line. Alun Owen, from Bethesda, died after he slipped and fell into the River Aber in Abergwyngregyn and was swept away on 6 October 2020. The 32-year-old has been described by his family as a ‘loving and selfless […]
Tata Chemicals fined following young father’s death
Tata Chemicals Europe Limited has been fined after a young father died following an incident while erecting a scaffold tower in a chemical plant in Northwich. Michael Densmore, from Halewood in Merseyside, died following complications to the wound he sustained after his right foot slipped into a trough containing a liquid chemical calcium hydroxide – […]
Construction company fined following death of HGV driver
A Nottinghamshire-based engineering and groundworks contractor has been fined £233,000 for safety breaches after a 52-year old HGV driver was struck and killed by the mast of a piling rig at a house build site in Annan, Dumfries and Galloway. On 21 January 2021, Gary Dobinson, who was employed by another company, visited the Hallmeadow […]
Skip hire and waste recycling company fined after worker is injured
A family run and owned skip hire, waste and recycling business in Scotland has been fined £24,000 after a worker sustained serious injuries to his left hand and forearm on the blades of a machine. Barry Edward Pae, formerly known as Barry Edward Vaughan, an employee of W M Russell & Sons Limited was injured […]
Company director given suspended sentence after worker crushed to death
A company director has been given a suspended prison sentence after an employee lost his life at a site in St Helens. Roger Gibbons, the director of RM Gibbons Ltd, was given a 16 weeks custodial sentence, which was suspended for 12 months. His company was also fined £40,000 following the death of Uldis Sankans, […]
Site manager issued suspended sentence after death of young father
The site manager of a waste and recycling company has been given a suspended prison sentence following the death of a young father at a site in Dewsbury. Wayne Griffiths, who was also a former director of Arthur Brook Limited, was given a ten-month custodial sentence, which was suspended for 18 months. It followed the […]
Waste company director sentenced over failure to comply with HSE notices
A director of a Kent waste company has been disqualified from being a director for five years for his role in its failure to comply with two Improvement Notices served by the Health and Safety Executive (HSE). David Richard Barker, director of BSP (Knockholt) Limited, was also sentenced to two 12-month community sentences, to run […]
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 […]