Stone company fined after repeatedly failing to protect workers
A company that produces stone products and its director have been fined a total of just under £20,000 after repeatedly failing to protect workers from exposure to Respirable Crystalline Silica (RCS). The Health and Safety Executive (HSE) carried out several inspections on Warmsworth Stone Limited, which produces carved stone masonry products using limestone, sandstone, granite […]
Company fined after barn roof fall
A company has been fined £133,000 after a man was left seriously injured when he fell through a barn roof in Southampton. The 37-year-old from Bursledon had been helping his friend repair a fire-damaged storage barn at Dodwell Farm Limited on Pylands Lane on 9 February 2023. The father-of-one had been at the top of […]
Company fined as worker breaks leg from fall
A company has been fined £120,000 after an employee broke his leg while working on a property in Salisbury. The man, who was 23 at the time, fell from the roof of the house on Sherfield English Road while working for EE Renewables Limited on 16 December 2022. He had been adjusting a solar panel […]
Food manufacturer fined following machinery incidents
A food manufacturer has been fined more than half a million pounds after three of its employees suffered serious injuries in separate incidents involving machinery. David Wood Baking Ltd has been prosecuted by the Health and Safety Executive (HSE). The incidents took place at between June and December 2022: On 25 June 2022, a woman’s […]
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 […]
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 […]
Fine for fairground operator after man ‘everyone fell in love with’ dies
A fairground operator has been fined after a man ‘everyone fell in love with’ died weeks after suffering serious head injuries while working on a ride in South Shields. Dean Cariss was struck by a moving car on a rollercoaster ride while daily testing and maintenance was being carried out at Ocean Beach Pleasure Park […]
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, […]
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 […]
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 […]