HSE: Latest Prosecution Results: April Edition

Engineering firm sentenced after fatal incident

An engineering company specialising in the manufacture of containers and drums for the nuclear, aerospace and medical industries has been sentenced after a worker was fatally injured. Preston Crown Court heard that on 21 May 2018, Whilst working at Graham Engineering’s site in  Whitehalls Industrial Estate, Colin Willoughby was lying on his back, underneath the raised middle section of a Hugh Smith 1000 tonne capacity press, using a hand-held electric grinder to remove a weld from the base of a large metal piston. When the weld was removed, the internal ram fell through to the ground, crushing Mr Willoughby resulting in instant death.

An investigation by the Health and Safety Executive (HSE) found Graham Engineering Ltd failed to carry out a risk assessment and ensure a safe system of work on the Hugh Smith 1000 tonne capacity press. The 20-tonne middle section of the press was raised using fork lift trucks which exceeded their safe working load, in order to access the underside of the press.

Following a trial in front of a jury Graham Engineering Ltd of Whitehalls Industrial Estate, Nelson was found guilty of breaching Section 2(1) of the Health and Safety at Work etc. Act 1974. The Company was fined £500,000 and ordered to pays costs of £145,487. Graham Engineering Ltd’s Manufacturing Director was acquitted of an associated charge under Section 37 of the Health and Safety at Work etc Act 1974.

Soft furnishings company fined after employee injured by unguarded machinery

A North West company that manufactures soft furnishings has been fined after an employee sustained serious hand injuries whilst working on an automatic duvet rolling machine. Manchester Magistrates’ Court heard that on 13 November 2018, two employees of Azura Soft Furnishings (UK) Limited had been instructed to sew and pack duvets by the company’s managing director, Mr Tariq Majid.  The machine was being trialled by the company. One of the employees using the machine was not authorised to operate it or trained in its use. Whilst the employee was using the machine to pack the duvets, he was able to reach into the machine through a gap in the door guard, in order to adjust the duvet being rolled. As he did so he made contact with moving parts inside, sustaining injuries to his right hand, including severing part of his middle finger.

An investigation by the Health and Safety Executive (HSE), found that foil had been placed over the sensors on the sliding perspex door guard, allowing it to be opened during operation, providing operators with a clearer view of the duvet in the machine.

Mr Majid failed to take action when he observed unauthorised use of the machine by the untrained employee and was unaware that the sensors had been overridden despite being present in a supervisory role at the company’s premises.  The company and its director failed to provide a safe system of work and to recognise the way in which their employees were working. In addition, sufficient training had not been provided to employees.

Azura Soft Furnishings Limited, of Highfield Industrial Estate, West End Street, Oldham, pleaded guilty to breaching section 2(1) of the Health and Safety at Work etc. Act 1974. The company was fined £13,600 and ordered to pay costs of £17,260. Company director, Tariq Majid, of Oldham, accepted a formal caution with regard to breaching Section 2(1) of the Health and Safety at Work etc. Act 1974.

Food manufacturing company fined after worker falls from ladder

A jam and preserve manufacturer has been prosecuted after a worker sustained multiple fractures after falling from a ladder. Llandudno Magistrates’ court heard how on the 6 April 2020, a worker was installing a security camera on the outside of The Clarendon Food Company Limited production building in Pwllheli, using an unsecured ladder. The ladder slipped and the worker fell approximately 15ft sustaining multiple fractures to his right arm, left leg, cheekbone and a dislocation of his backbone

An investigation by the Health and Safety Executive (HSE) found the work at height had not been properly planned, and alternative access equipment to allow safe working at height had not been considered. No training had been provided to either the injured party or others in relation to work at height. There was also a failure to ensure effective monitoring of work at height practices to identify any shortcomings in the company’s procedures which had persisted for some time. 

The Clarendon Food Company Limited of Bryn, Y Ffor, Pwllheli, Gwynedd pleaded guilty to breaching section 2 of the Health and Safety at Work etc Act 1974. They were fined £40,000 and ordered to pay costs of £5,344.30

Priory Healthcare Ltd pleads guilty following HSE investigation

Priory Healthcare Ltd appeared before Westminster Magistrates’ Court, on Wednesday 20 April, and pleaded guilty to failing to discharge a duty under Section 3(1) Health and Safety at Work etc. Act 1974.  It’s conviction follows the death of 21-year-old Francesca Whyatt after she was discovered unconscious at The Priory Hospital, Roehampton on 25 September 2013.

North West construction company fined after building collapse

A Manchester construction company was fined after much of a three-bedroom domestic property in Stretford collapsed during a loft conversion and ground floor extension work. Manchester Magistrates’ Court heard that on 4 May 2020, Mughal Construction Limited had been carrying out a loft conversion when it collapsed, causing workers to flee from the site. The building had insufficient temporary supports and workers did not have sufficient skills, knowledge and experience, to carry out the work safely.

An investigation by the Health and Safety Executive (HSE) found that the company had failed to properly plan, manage, and monitor the work. It had failed to provide adequate health and safety measures to prevent the risk of collapse at the property including sufficient measures to ensure it remained safe and stable.

Mughal Construction Limited of Levenshulme Trading Estate, Printworks Lane, Manchester pleaded guilty of breaching Regulations 13(1) and 19(1) of the Construction (Design and Management) Regulations 2015. The company was fined £30,000 and ordered to pay costs of £3,000.

Construction company fined after child struck by wall collapse

Gurmit Properties Limited were fined today for safety breaches after a substantial part of a wall at a construction site at Barnsley Road, South Elmsall collapsed, seriously injuring a child. Leeds Magistrates’ Court heard that, Gurmit Properties Limited (GPL) were the owners of the site at Barnsley Road, South Elmsall. The company had previously received a large delivery of aggregate, which was deposited on land next to the construction site. Officials from the local council attended the site and ordered the materials to be removed. GPL then brought the materials back on to their site storing them behind the wall.

On 7th February 2018 an eight-year old child was walking with her mother along Harrow Street, adjacent to GPL’s construction site, when she was hit by the collapsing wall. She sustained serious injuries, including crush injuries to her foot which resulted in the amputation of a big toe.

An investigation by the Health and Safety Executive (HSE) found that GPL had not assessed the structural integrity of the wall to ensure it was safe to be used as either a secure boundary for the site or as a retaining wall for storing materials. When the materials were stored against the wall it failed and this led directly to the collapse and the injuries to the child.

GPL were a client and a contractor within the meaning of Construction (Design and Management) Regulations 2015 and failed in their duty to ensure that the wall was either safe for use as a secure site boundary or as a retaining wall for storing materials.

Gurmit Properties Ltd of Albion Street Castleford West Yorkshire pleaded guilty to breaching Section 3 (1) of the Health & Safety at Work etc Act 1974. The company has been fined £22,500 and ordered to pay £11,998.80 in costs.

Chemical company fined after worker suffered burns

Robert McBride Ltd was sentenced today for safety breaches after a 31-year-old worker suffered 13 per cent superficial burns to his right arm and hand following the ignition of flammable vapours at the company’s site in Hull. Beverley Magistrates’ Court heard that on 21 August 2017, a batch of hairspray was being mixed in a 10,000 litre stainless steel mixing vessel. Flammable vapours were created within the mixing vessel as a result of heating. Ethanol was pumped directly into the vessel via pipework from an external storage tank. Other constituents (liquid and powder) were added to the vessel via a manway lid on the top of the vessel. The mixing process then required the addition of heat via an integral steam coil within the vessel. As the worker was adding powders into the vessel via the lid using a metal scoop, flammable vapours leaving the vessel via the lid ignited, briefly engulfing his upper torso.

An investigation by the Health and Safety Executive (HSE) found  there was an extraction system at the lip of the manway lid to remove vapours from this area, but it was not adequate to prevent a build-up of a flammable atmosphere. The ignition source is likely to have been a spark from the metal scoop, or static electricity build up on the workers clothing.

Robert McBride Ltd of Hornscroft Park, Kinswood, Hull pleaded guilty to breaching Regulation 6(1) of the Dangerous Substances and Explosive Atmospheres Regulations (DSEAR) 2002. The company was fined £480,000 and ordered to pay costs of £13,441.80.

Two contractors sentenced after cable strike at substation

A principal contractor and subcontractor have been fined after an employee’s retina was damaged by an explosion caused by a cable strike during construction works at a substation. Manchester Magistrates Court heard how VolkerInfra Ltd, a high voltage cabling expert contractor, had been subcontracted by principal contractor Siemens Energy Ltd to carry out cabling works as part of a wider construction project at Whitegate Substation in Chadderton, Manchester. On the 17^th September 2019, an excavator driver, working on behalf of VolkerInfra Ltd, was excavating phases for laying a 275kV cable and struck an existing live cable close by with the excavator. The contact resulted in multiple explosions which caused blistering to the driver’s retina.

An investigation by the Health and Safety Executive (HSE) found that the permit to dig had not been properly completed by Siemens Energy. It was also found that neither they, nor the subcontractors had checked the cable markings prior to work commencing. The existing live cable had not been adequately identified by the team working on behalf of VolkerInfra and so the surface markings for the cable location were incorrect by around 50cm.  It was also found that there had been inadequate monitoring and supervision of work.

Siemens Energy Ltd of C A Parsons Works, Shields Road, Newcastle Upon Tyne, NE6 2YL pleaded guilty to breaching Regulation 13(1) of the Construction Design and Management Regulations 2015 and was fined £900,000 and ordered to pay costs of £6,327.52. Volkerinfra Ltd of Hertford House, Hoddesdon, Hertfordshire pleaded guilty to breaches of Section 3 (1) Health & Safety at Work etc. Act 1974 and was fined £180,000 and ordered to pay costs of £6,430.72.

HSE issues MOD with Crown Censure following severe injuries to employee

The Ministry of Defence (MoD) has been issued with a Crown Censure by the Health and Safety Executive (HSE) after an employee was shot during a training exercise.

In January 2019 an employee of the Ministry of Defence suffered severe injuries as a result of being shot with live ammunition during a training exercise where blank ammunition should have been used. This put both employees and persons not in the employment of Ministry of Defence, at risk. The incident has had severe life changing consequences for the injured employee. Following their medical discharge, they suffered from PTSD and following the incident had difficulty performing routine tasks such as getting dressed, cooking cleaning and driving.

By accepting the Crown Censure, the MoD admitted breaching its duty under Section 2(1) and Section 3 (1) of the Health and Safety at Work etc. Act 1974 in that they failed to ensure, so far as was reasonably practicable, the health, safety and welfare at work of its employees, and persons not in their employment, particularly in relation to the risks associated with training exercises.

Property Management Company fined following a gas explosion

Holt Estates England Ltd has been fined after a homeowner sustained burns when gas escaping from an open-ended pipe ignited. North Somerset Magistrates’ Court heard that following pre-sale refurbishment work at a property in Chard a gas cooker was disconnected from the gas pipe, but the pipe was not sealed off properly leaving an open-ended pipe connected to the mains gas supply, which was only turned off at the meter. The cooker hob was removed during refurbishment in late summer 2018 when the property was empty.

On 25 January 2019 the new owner moved in and turned the gas on to use the central heating boiler.  Unfortunately, he did not know about the open pipe which immediately began to leak gas. As he was trying to turn on his cooker, the leaked gas ignited. This resulted in a small explosion and fire. The homeowner Mr Robins sustained smoke inhalation and burns, which required hospital treatment

An investigation by the Health and Safety Executive (HSE) found that the company in control of the refurbishment work had failed to ensure so far as was reasonably practicable that persons not in their employment were not exposed to risks to their health and safety from the gas installation.

Holt Estates England Ltd of High Street in Caterham, Surrey was found guilty of breaching Section 3(1) of the Health and Safety at Work Act. The company was fined £40,000 and ordered to pay costs of £11,105.90

Company fined after worker died following fall from shipping container

A transport and haulage company was sentenced after a worker died after falling from the rear of a transport shipping container. Newcastle Magistrates’ Court heard that on 27 June 2018, J R Adams (Newcastle) Limited employee Keith Robson was involved in the task of unloading goods from the transport shipping container, which was on the back of a large goods road vehicle trailer at the company premises in Gateshead. The employee was inside the open topped container with the rear doors open preparing access for the overhead crane, and then the removal of the shipment of steel girders. While undertaking this work the employee fell approximately 1.5 metres from the rear of the container.

An investigation by the Health and Safety Executive (HSE) found that although the company had various generic risk assessments and safe working method statements, it had not put in place the simple control measures to prevent or mitigate a fall from the rear of this container.  It also failed to carry out a suitable or sufficient risk assessment for this specific work activity.

J R Adams (Newcastle) Limited of Gateshead Longrigg, Swallwell, Gateshead pleaded guilty to breaching Section 2(1) of the Health and Safety at Work etc Act 1974. The company was fined £200,000 and ordered to pay costs of £15,322.

Farmer fined after worker becomes entangled in potato harvester

A farmer has been sentenced after a worker suffered multiple injuries after becoming entangled in the contra-rotating rollers of a potato harvester. Folkestone Magistrates’ Court heard that on 21 August 2020, the worker was involved in unblocking the potato harvester at a farm in Kent when he stepped down on to the rollers. The worker was pulled leg first into the machine and became stuck up to his knee. This resulted in burns to the leg, a pulled hamstring, torn calf, broken nerves and hairline fractures to the knee and ankle.

An investigation by the Health and Safety Executive (HSE) found that the farmer had failed to implement a ‘safe stop procedure’ to isolate power and stop the movement of the rollers before the worker accessed them.

Alan Down of Main Road, Sellindge, Ashford, Kent pleaded guilty to breaching Regulation 11(1)(b) of the Provision and Use of Work Equipment Regulations 1998. He was fined £4,992 and ordered to pay costs of £5,805.