News

It has been a busy start to the summer for HSE with many prosecutions throughout June and July. Here are TEN prosecution cases you might have missed during that time: Tata Chemicals fined following young father’s death On 5 June, Tata Chemicals Europe Limited was fined more than £1 million at Chester Crown Court. The […]

A manufacturing company based in Wolverhampton has been fined £30,000 after a welder sustained serious injuries when he was struck by a forklift truck. David Lucas was working for Fablink UK Limited at its weld shop site on Stafford Road when he was hit by the reversing forklift on 12 January 2023. The forklift driver […]

A company has been fined £160,000 after an employee lost both legs whilst working at its site near Warrington. On 20 June 2022, Andrew McAuley, from Runcorn, an employee of William Stobart & Son Limited was picking orders at the firm’s warehouse in Appleton Thorn. The 64-year-old was working in close proximity to a forklift […]

The Health and Safety Executive (HSE) is now leading the investigation into a ride malfunction at the Lambeth Country Show. On 8 June 2024, four people were injured as a result of the incident which occurred at Brockwell Park in London. The ride involved in this incident is now being forensically examined by specialists at […]

The director of a Halifax-based recycling company has been given a community order after a worker lost part of his left leg when it was crushed by machinery. Daisy Ning Bai, 43, the director of BW Recycling Limited, was told she must complete 160 hours of unpaid work after pleading guilty to health and safety […]

Britain’s offshore oil and gas installations are held to high regulatory standards, but human error can still lead to a major incident. That’s the message from the Health and Safety Executive (HSE), who are urging offshore companies to take a closer look at what’s widely known in the sector as human factors. HSE inspects human […]

A recycling company has been fined after a man died and another was seriously injured while decommissioning a North Sea gas rig. Stephen Picken, 62, and Mark Kumar were working for Veolia ES (UK) Limited at an onshore facility in Great Yarmouth. Both men were working as demolition operatives also known as “Top Men”, undertaking […]

A Cheshire-based electrical transmission company has been fined £240,000 after a man was left paralysed from the chest down after a fall at work. Gavin Pugh, from Bangor in North Wales, was 35 at the time of the incident and employed as a linesman by Wood Transmission and Distribution Limited. He had been demolishing and […]

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 […]

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, […]

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 […]

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 […]

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 […]

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 […]

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 […]

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 […]

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 […]

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 […]

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 […]

A manufacturing business in Lincolnshire has been fined for failing to protect its workers from hazardous substances. A Health and Safety Executive (HSE) inspection of W.S. Barrett and Son Limited’s site at Riverside Industrial estate in Boston, Lincolnshire, found the company’s workers were being potentially exposed to welding fume and dusts from powder coating. Welding […]