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 […]
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 […]
Plastic manufacturing company fined after death of young dad
A company that manufactures plastic products for the food industry has been fined £330,000 after a young dad was killed while doing his job. Nathan Hook, a father of one, was working for Suffolk-based Maynard and Harris Plastics, when he was drawn into rotating machinery. As a result, the 34-year-old suffered fatal head injuries. The […]
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 […]
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, […]
Manchester engineering firm fined after apprentice loses fingers
A Manchester-based engineering company has been fined £500,000 after a young apprentice lost the use of two fingers when using a horizontal bandsaw. The apprentice, who was just 18 at the time, suffered the serious injuries to his fingers in an incident at Proline Engineering Limited in Worsely, on 7 November 2022. While one finger […]
Fine for construction company after father of three left paralysed
A father-of-three was left paralysed from the chest down after falling through a ceiling at a house renovation in Derbyshire. Chesterfield builder Andrew Clifford remained lying face down on the floor for around six hours before he was found by a delivery driver. He judged the time by hearing hourly news bulletins from his radio. […]
School trust fined after pupil injured
A school trust in Surrey has been fined after part of a pupil’s finger was amputated. The five-year-old boy, a Year 1 pupil at Danetree Primary School in Epsom, had been leaving the toilet on 15 June 2022 when his right hand slipped and went into the hinge side of a door. There was no […]
Man spared immediate spell behind bars over unsafe gas work
A man from Blackpool has been spared an immediate spell behind bars after his unsafe gas work put people’s lives at risk. Mehmet Kalyoncu, who pleaded guilty on the first day of a proposed trial, was given a 12-month custodial sentence suspended for the same period. The 57-year-old, who was not Gas Safe Registered, installed […]
Company fined as employee fractures skull
A company has been fined £80,000 after an employee sustained a fractured skull at its site in Glasgow. In addition to a fractured skull, the worker sustained a broken clavicle, a ripped earlobe and haematomas down his right side, caused by being struck by a telehandler bucket while working at Grayshill Limited on 19 October […]
Routine inspection lands metal recycling firm with £650,000 fine
A major metal recycling firm has been hit with a £650,000 fine following a routine inspection by Britain’s workplace regulator. ASM Metal Recycling, which operates four other metal recycling sites, including at locations in Bedfordshire and Hertfordshire, received enforcement action from the Health and Safety Executive (HSE) for failing to implement effective control measures to […]
Residents put at risk of deadly disease as company fined £900k
A company has been fined following an outbreak of legionella at its sheltered housing accommodation in Birkenhead, putting vulnerable residents at risk of contracting Legionnaires’ disease. The deadly bacteria was detected at Vincent Naughton Court following the sampling of its water systems in the communal areas and flats in July and August 2018. With all […]