Teen’s thumb re-attached after being severed off at work
Apprentice injured in luxury hotel renovation HSE guidance on working with machinery is available Doctors managed to successfully reattach the thumb of a teenage apprentice after it had been severed off by a rotating blade. The then 18-year-old resumed his apprenticeship with another firm following the procedure. He was employed as an apprentice joiner […]
Worker has leg amputated following fall
Traffic light system had broken down several weeks before incident, investigation finds. HSE guidance is available on safe use of transport. A Norfolk-based food wholesaler has been fined £66,000 after an employee’s leg had to be amputated after he was injured while loading a lorry. The worker was loading an HGV using a pallet truck […]
Construction firm fined for ignoring fire safety during works
Development in central Preston was to fit former warehouse with 35 apartments. Action taken by both the Health and Safety Executive (HSE) and Lancashire Fire and Rescue Service (LFRS) in multi-agency collaboration. An Altrincham-based construction company has been fined £165,000 after it repeatedly failed to put in place suitable fire precautions during renovation in Preston. […]
Fine after council worker crushed at London waste facility
A waste and recycling company has been fined £400,000 after a council worker was crushed at a waste facility in London. Paul McDaid, an Enfield Council employee, was working at the London Energy Ltd transfer station in Edmonton, London, on 13th May 2022 when a shovel loader reversed into him. The 58-year-old had been closing […]
Nottingham builder spared jail after gas explosion injures worker
A Nottingham builder has avoided an immediate spell behind bars after his failures resulted in a gas explosion leaving a worker with burns so serious, he has been unable to work since. Barry Newman, the sole trader of Foster Brother Builders, was given a 12-month suspended sentence and told to complete 240 hours of unpaid […]
Company fined after worker is crushed by car
A Liverpool motor vehicle repair company has been fined after a car fell from a two-post car vehicle lift onto a worker who was on his break. The court heard how the man suffered multiple serious fractures in the incident at a garage in the Kensington area of Liverpool on 23 November 2022. The 56-year-old […]
Suffolk meat producer fined after worker loses finger
Company’s own procedures on meat cutting were not followed Training only provided in English despite multi-national workforce A Suffolk-based meat producer has been fined £140,000 after one of its workers lost part of his finger while cutting a pig tail. The man had been working for pork producer C & K Meats Limited at its […]
Building firm fined after house collapse injures four
Two workers were on first floor when collapse happened. “Lucky nobody was killed”, says HSE inspector. HSE guidance is available. A London construction company has been fined £50,000 after four men were injured – two seriously – when the first floor of a house collapsed during building works. Aryn Stones Ltd had been contracted to […]
Oil and gas operator fined following incident on North Sea platform
Water rose to workers’ knees before emergency stop Incident was “terrifying”, says HSE inspector An oil and gas operator has been fined £300,000 after three crew members descended into a water filled lift shaft on a floating platform in the North Sea causing them to become partially submerged. The workers had been descending in a […]
Suspended prison sentence following death of young roofer
Two companies also fined. Young roofer was on just his second day on the job. Falls from height remain one of the leading causes of workplace death and HSE guidance is available. A director has been given a suspended jail sentence and two companies fined after a young man on just his second day on […]
Site supervisor fined after exposing school pupils to asbestos
A construction site supervisor has been fined after he exposed primary school pupils and staff to asbestos during renovation work. Adrian Barraclough was working as a site supervisor during the refurbishment of kitchen facilities at Holy Family Catholic Primary School in Bristol. During the works on 13 May 2023, the 54-year-old cut through asbestos insulating […]
Metal gate manufacturer fined after exposing workers to serious safety risks
A metal gate manufacturing company has been prosecuted after repeatedly ignoring Health and Safety Executive (HSE) enforcement notices. Research and Development in Opening Gates Limited was first visited by HSE at its site in Grantham, Lincolnshire, where inspectors identified serious safety breaches, including unsafe equipment, inadequate control of welding fume, and poor structural integrity in […]
Taylor Wimpey fined £800,000 after teen apprentice injured on site
A housebuilder has been fined £800,000 after a teen apprentice was injured when a temporary stairwell covering collapsed. Charlie Marsh, 17, had been working as a contractor on a Taylor Wimpey UK Limited site as it built around 450 new homes on its Meadfields site in Weston-Super-Mare. The apprentice bricklayer, from Whitchurch in Bristol, was […]
Edinburgh Airport fined after pensioner fell from ambulift
James Young died in hospital more than a week after the fall Locking fault on “ambulift” had been in place for some time before incident HSE guidance is available on the maintenance of work equipment. The owner of Edinburgh Airport has been fined £80,000 after a pensioner fell from an ambulift on his return from […]
Cheshire college fined after student’s fingers severed
A college in Nantwich that specialises in outdoor-based careers has been fined £40,000 after a student’s fingers were severed when his hand came into contact with a mitre saw. Aaron Maguire, from Crewe, was a second year Horticulture student at Reaseheath College when his hand came into contact with the blade of the saw on […]
Fine for flour mill after workers severs finger
A Northamptonshire-based flour company has been fined £300,000 after a maintenance worker severed one of his fingers in machinery. The incident happened at ADM Milling Limited at its site on Earlstrees Industrial Estate in Corby on 28 June 2023. David Wood, who was 59 at the time, had been carrying out maintenance work on a […]
Company fined after worker exposed to radiation
A multi-national company has been fined £26,000 after a radiographer was overexposed to ionising radiation. The 69-year-old man had been working for Mistras Group Limited at its former site in Hartlepool in December 2020, when the company was notified by their approved dosimetry service that he had received a dose in excess of legal limits. […]
Council fined after man falls while installing town’s Christmas tree
20-foot tree toppled during Bury Market installation HSE has well-established guidance on safely working at height Bury Metropolitan Borough Council has been fined £200,000 after a man was injured while installing the town’s Christmas tree. The council employee was using a scissor lift to straighten the 20-foot tall Christmas tree when it toppled over […]
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, […]