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 […]
Health and safety regulator reminds farmers to keep visitors safe and healthy at open farm events
Ahead of Open Farm Sunday (Sunday 8 June) the Health and Safety Executive (HSE) is highlighting guidance available to farmers to help them keep people safe. As we enter the summer months, an increasing number of working farms are taking the opportunity to hold open farm events and allow members of the public to visit […]
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 […]
Fine for company and director after employee falls through roof light
HSE guidance says all work at height must be properly planned A construction company and its director have been fined after a worker fell through the roof of a sheep barn. Jack Croft, 30, suffered life changing injuries after the incident in Leyburn, North Yorkshire. He was working for Norman Iveson Steel Products, as part […]
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. […]
“No-one is in charge of health and safety” – stone company fined after workshop floor covered in hazardous dust
HSE inspectors left stunned by employee concerns HSE guidance on artificial stone dust recently updated A company that manufactures popular stone kitchen worktops has been fined £60,000 after it repeatedly failed to protect workers from exposure to hazardous dust. Inspectors from the Health and Safety Executive (HSE) visited Inova Stone Ltd nine times over a […]
Two companies fined after worker injured in fall from height
Working at height a leading cause of workplace injury and death, HSE guidance is available. Two Shrewsbury-based companies have been fined after a worker fell through a roof during extension work on a house extension the town. The injured man was one of several workers employed by Roofrite (Shropshire) Limited carrying out work on the […]
Wood supplier hit with £40,000 for failing to protect workers from dust
Workshop caked in dust when HSE inspected Guidance is available to prevent excessive exposure A wood supplier has been fined £40,000 for failing to protect its workers from exposure to wood dust. Fakenham-based Nat Pal Limited was visited by the Health and Safety Executive (HSE) in April 2023. Dust was found scattered across the floor, […]
Fine for manufacturing firm after man loses finger in machinery
A manufacturing company has been fined £20,000 after a worker lost part of his finger in machinery at its site in St Helens. The man was injured at Film & Foil Solutions Ltd, which makes flexible film used in the food industry, on 4 December 2023. He was using a machine that converts and folds […]
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 […]
Sarah Albon Chief Executive on the Health and Safety Executive turning 50
Sarah Albon, Chief Executive This is no ordinary new years’ message. Because on 1 January, 50 years ago, the regulator I am proud to lead was formed. Over the past half century, the Health and Safety Executive (HSE) has led the way in establishing Great Britain as a safe place to work. As we look […]
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 […]