HSE: Latest Prosecution Results: June Edition

Demolition company fined after fall from height fatality

A dismantling and demolition company has been fined after a worker fell 30 feet to his death when part of a pipe bridge platform gave way. Kirkcaldy Sheriff Court heard that John Gary Robertson, known as Gary Robertson, employed by CBR02 Limited (formerly known as Brown and Mason) suffered multiple injuries following a fall from height at Longannet Power Station, Fife on 6 February 2019.

A joint investigation by the Health and Safety Executive and Police Scotland into the incident found that the section of metal grating on the pipe bridge which the deceased had been standing gave way under his weight, as it had been extremely corroded. By failing to record the extremely hazardous condition of the pipe bridge the Company failed to undertake a suitable and sufficient risk assessment. In particular, the risk assessment, which formed part of the final, revised method statement, did not address the severely corroded nature of the pipe bridge, despite that being previously highlighted and requested by the client, Scottish Power. The Company failed to put necessary control measures in place, to inform employees of the hazardous condition of the pipe bridge, and to prevent access to it.

CBR02 Limited of Hertford Road, Middlesex pleaded guilty to breaching Section 2(1) of the Health and Safety at Work etc Act 1974. The company has been fined fined £5,000.

Company and director fined after worker sustained life-changing injuries

A manufacturer of concrete architectural elements and garden ornaments, and its director, have been fined after an employee sustained life-changing injuries when his arms became trapped in a cement mixer.  Nottingham Crown Court heard that on 8 August 2018, the employee was using the cement mixer at the company’s premises on Nottingham Road, Alfreton, to prepare the concrete mix for the ornamental castings.  The employee attempted to stop the machinery to retrieve something from the mixing pan. However, when he reached inside, his arms came into contact with the mixing paddles, and he was dragged almost entirely into the mixer.  He managed to pull himself out but was seriously injured. As a result of the incident his left arm was amputated at the upper arm level and his right arm had to be amputated at the mid forearm. He also sustained injuries to his ribs, face, back and shoulders.

An investigation by the Health and Safety Executive (HSE) found that David Sharp Studio Limited had failed to take sufficient steps to guard against the risks of entrapment and injury posed by the cement mixer. The employee had been exposed to the risk of serious injury by requiring him to operate the mixer with the lid open whilst standing next to it. There was a failure to provide guards or to interlock the operation of the mixer in order to reduce the risk of accidental entrapment or foreseeable misuse.  There was also a failure to train, instruct and supervise the employee to ensure that he was aware of, and followed, safe procedures for working on or near the mixer whilst it was in operation. The HSE investigation also established that the company Director, David Sharp, was aware of the unsafe conditions and allowed them to continue.

David Sharp Studio Limited of White House, Clarendon Street, Nottingham, pleaded guilty to breaching Regulation 11(1) of the Provision and Use of Work Equipment Regulations 1998. The company was fined £1,000. David Sharp, also of Clarendon Street, Nottingham, pleaded guilty to a charge under Section 37 of the Health and Safety at Work etc. Act 1974.  He was fined £2,000, disqualified from being a company director for seven years and ordered to pay full costs of £30,802.35.

Former construction company directors sentenced for failing to prevent exposure to asbestos

Two former company directors have been sentenced and fined after a refurbishment project at a former department store was found to have disturbed asbestos containing materials (ACMs) while demolition work was still taking place. Newcastle Crown Court heard that during October 2017, the former Joplings Department Store in Sunderland was undergoing refurbishment when workers disturbed large quantities of asbestos.

Following a reported concern regarding unsafe construction work at the site, an investigation by the Health and Safety Executive (HSE) found that demolition and stripping work had been carried out inside the property. The age of the building and previous refurbishment work meant that there were vast quantities of ACMs inside the building.

During several months of demolition and refurbishment work the ACMs had been broken up using sledgehammers and brute force. Asbestos fibres were spread across five floors of the building as well as outside of the city centre property. At the time of HSE’s intervention, 1,315 square metres of contaminated waste was found across the shop floors and in the stairwell.

Former director of Keebar Construction, Alan Barraclough, of Hutton Lane, Guisborough was found guilty of breaching two counts of Section 37 of the Health and Safety at Work Act 1974 etc. He received a 14-month sentence, suspended for 2 years, and ordered to carry out 120 hours of unpaid community work within 12 months. He was suspended as a director for 10 years and ordered to pay costs of £44,774.21.

Construction company fined and director sentenced after workers exposed to asbestos

A Manchester based construction company has been fined and its director sentenced to a community order of 200 hours unpaid work after workers disturbed asbestos during a refurbishment project. Manchester Magistrates Court heard that between May and June 2021, Sal Construction Ltd had been contracted to carry out refurbishment work of student accommodation at Darbishire House, Upper Brook Street, Manchester.

The project consisted of providing bathrooms for all rooms and constructing two studio flats. Work began by building two show rooms on the ground floor before beginning work on the top floor which was stripped back to brickwork. During this work, asbestos pipe lagging was removed, and debris spread across the site and in and around the skip in the yard area.

An investigation by the Health and Safety Executive (HSE) found that this work was carried out by five or six employees under the supervision of Sal Zardooi, the sole director of the company instead of a licenced asbestos removal contractor.

Sal Construction Services Limited of Finney Lane, Heald Green, Cheadle pleaded guilty to breaches of Section 2 (1) and Section 3(1) of the Health and Safety at Work etc. Act 1974 and was fined £30,000 and ordered to pay costs of £2,133.45. Salar Zardooi of Finney Lane, Heald Green, Cheadle pleaded guilty to breaches of Section 2 (1) and Section 3(1) of the Health and Safety at Work etc. Act 1974, by virtue of 37(1) of the Act and was sentenced to 200 hours unpaid work and to pay costs of £2,007.75.

Company fined after contractor injured in a fall from height

A manufacturing company has been fined after a contractor sustained injuries whilst working on the top of a machine. Manchester Magistrates’ Court heard that, on 30 July 2020, a contractor for Manufax Engineering Limited was working on top of the Correa machine which had an access gantry to reach the top.

However, the maintenance task he was carrying out meant he had to step outside of the gantry to reach a particular part of the machine. Whilst outside the gantry he lost his balance and fell.  As he fell, he tried to grab the top of the machine but failed and fell 3.9 metres resulting in a fractured right elbow, two fractured ribs and two pelvis fractures.

An investigation by the Health and Safety Executive (HSE) found that the company had no safe system of work for the task that was being carried out, there was a lack of supervision and no formal monitoring system in place to ensure that employees and contractors were working safely on site.  The task was not planned, supervised, or carried out in a safe manner.

Manufax Engineering Limited of Cromer Street in Stockport, pleaded guilty to breaching Section 3 (1) of the Health and Safety at Work etc. Act 1974 and was fined £26,000 and ordered to pay costs of £3,205.42.

Company sentenced after worker fall from height

Abbots Mead Limited, a building maintenance company based in Cheshire has been fined £20,000 for poorly managing work at height while carrying out repairs to a roof and cleaning the gutters of a commercial unit in Wolverhampton. Dudley Magistrates Court heard that on 29 January 2021 while carrying out repairs works to a fragile roof of a commercial unit, an apprentice employee fell through a skylight. The employee fell approximately six metres to the concrete floor of the warehouse below contacting the racking on the fall. His injuries included fractures to the hip and wrist.

An investigation by the Health and safety executive (HSE) found that employees had not been informed they were working on a fragile roof and no measures had been implemented for working on a fragile surface. The company failed to properly risk assess the task and to provide the appropriate control measures to prevent a fall.

Abbots Mead Limited, of Knutsford Way, Sealand Industrial Estate, Chester, pleaded guilty to a breach of Regulation 4(1) of the Work at Height Regulations 2005 and received a £20,000 fine. Abbots Mead Ltd were also ordered to pay costs of £3,873 and a victim surcharge.

Scottish care provider found guilty of Health and Safety breaches following death of a vulnerable adult

Care provider, The Richmond Fellowship Scotland, has been fined after being found guilty of health and safety breaches after a vulnerable adult with severe learning difficulties drowned in a bath. Glasgow Sherriff’s Court heard that on 10 June 2016, at Cherry Tree Court in Cambuslang, Glasgow, one of the residents, Margaret Glasgow, a vulnerable adult with severe learning difficulties, drowned in a bath within her flat in the early hours of the morning.

The Richmond Fellowship had supplied a baby monitor to alert support workers that Ms Glasgow was out of bed but a HSE investigation found that it was neither suitable nor sufficient as she was so light on her feet. The two support workers, one of which was on her first shift at Cherry Tree Court and who also were supporting four different service users in four different flats, failed to hear that Ms Glasgow was out of bed. Sometime during the early hours of the morning of 10 June 2016, she was able to run a bath in which she subsequently drowned. The water to the flat should also have been isolated but neither carer knew to do so.

HSE’s investigation concluded that there were severe staff shortages at the time of Ms Glasgow’s death which resulted in two carers who were not familiar with Ms Glasgow being put in charge of her care over-night. Richmond Fellowship had no specific induction procedures at Cherry Tree Court and relied on staff finding time to read the care plans after their shift had commenced. There were no clear shift plans to alert the support workers to the critical needs of the four people they were supporting and no clear instructions on how checks should be made.

Staff had raised concerns on a number of occasions after finding Ms Glasgow out of bed, but Richmond Fellowship had failed to put more appropriate measures such a door sensors or pressure mats in place.

The Richmond Fellowship Scotland of Cumbernauld Road, North Lanarkshire pleaded not guilty to charges under Section 3 of the Health and Safety at Work (etc) Act 1974 but were found guilty following a two-week trial. The organisation was fined £450,000.

Sea food processing company fined after fatality involving forklift

A sea food processing company has been fined after a worker died following injuries sustained when she was run over by a forklift. Lerwick Sheriff Court heard on 31 January 2018, that Karen Allen’ an employee of QA Fish Ltd suffered significant leg injuries as a pedestrian, following a vehicular collision in Scalloway, Shetland.

A joint investigation by the Health and Safety Executive (HSE) and Police Scotland found that no site-specific workplace transport risk assessment had been carried out. The use of the forklift truck was critical for the function of the business and the company failed to provide suitable and sufficient control measures to ensure that pedestrians and vehicles could circulate in a safe manner in the exterior of the premises, particularly with regards to the forklift truck.

The company failed to implement effective arrangements for the management of health and safety and also failed to act on the advice of a health and safety consultant several years prior to the incident.

QA Fish Ltd of Blacksness Pier, Shetland have pleaded guilty to breaching Section 2(1) and Section 33(1)(a) of the Health and Safety at Work Act 1974 and have been fined £80,000, to be paid within 12 months.

Timber company fined after employee severs thumb

A timber company has been fined after an employee suffered serious injuries when his thumb came into contact with a saw blade. High Wycombe Magistrates’ Court heard that on 13 February 2019, Maceij Rudnicki, was setting up the floor mounted band resaw for a production run when his hand was drawn towards the blade with the power feed on.  The thumb on his right hand was severed when it made contact with an unguarded blade.

An investigation by the Health and Safety Executive (HSE) found that Watford Timber Company Limited had failed to take the machine out of use when the guard stopped working because it did not have adequate arrangements in place to check and monitor their machines to ensure that guards and other protective devices remained in good working order.

Watford Timber Company Limited of Olds Approach, Tolpits Lane, Watford pleaded guilty to breaching Regulation 11(1) of the Provision and Use of Work Equipment Regulations 1998 and Regulation 5 of The Management of Health and Safety at Work Regulations 1999. The company was fined £13,400  and ordered to pay costs of £5,358.05.

Construction company fined following fall from height.

Side Extensions Limited, a Hertfordshire-based construction company, has been fined for not having safety measures in place for working at height which caused the fall and death of an 86-year-old woman. Southwark Crown Court heard that on 2 December 2019 Mrs Iris Keys entered a construction site at St Ann’s Hill, Wandsworth, London. She walked up a flight of stairs, across the first floor and fell from the edge of an unprotected stairwell. Mrs Keys suffered serious injuries including a fractured hip, fracture to her right arm, a dislocated left shoulder and lacerations to her forehead and right leg. She subsequently died from her injuries at St George’s Hospital five days later.

An investigation by the Health and Safety Executive (HSE) found that Side Extensions Limited was in control of work at height and had a duty to take suitable and sufficient measures to prevent, so far as is reasonably practicable, any person falling a distance liable to cause personal injury. HSE’s investigation found it would have been reasonably practicable to ensure that the entire stairwell opening had been boarded over with a suitable material before the removal of the bannisters. This would have allowed a window to be installed without risks to falls. If the stairwell needed to be reopened after installation of the window, temporary guard rails or barriers could have been installed before the board over the stairwell opening had been removed.

Side Extension Limited of Penningtons, Bishop’s Stortford, Hertfordshire, pleaded guilty to breaching Regulation 6(3) of the Work at Height Regulations 2005. The company was fined £50,000 and ordered to pay costs of £10,061.86.

Two men sentenced after worker suffers fatal injuries after falling through fragile roof

Two men have received suspended sentences after a worker fell over five metres through fragile roof panels suffering injuries that subsequently proved fatal. Newcastle Crown Court heard how that on 16 November 2015, the worker was carrying out over-cladding work, involving the installation of new roofing material over an existing fragile asbestos cement roof, at an industrial building on West Chirton (South) Industrial Estate, North Shields, Tyne and Wear.

An investigation by the Health and Safety Executive (HSE) found that the method of work was unsafe and there were inadequate precautions to prevent or mitigate against falls from or through the roof as well as an effective assessment of risk, selection and use of appropriate work equipment, safe system of work and effective supervision.

Ian Blacklin of Capheaton, Newcastle upon Tyne, pleaded guilty to breaching Regulation 3(2) of the Management of Health and Safety at Work Regulations 1999, Section 3(2) of the Health and Safety at Work Act 1974 and Regulation 8(2) of the Construction (Design and Management) Regs 2015 and was sentenced to 16 months imprisonment, suspended for 18 months.

Dennis Spence of Denton, Newcastle upon Tyne, pleaded guilty to breaching Regulation 3(1) of the Management of Health and Safety at Work Regulations 1999, Regulation 4(1) of the Work at Height Regulations 2005 and Regulation 6(1) of the work at Height Regulations 2005 and was sentenced to 14 months imprisonment, suspended for 18 months with £1,800 costs.

Furniture manufacturer fined after failing to manage employee’s exposure of vibration

A North Wales company that manufactures sofas and chairs has been fined after failing to ensure that employee’s exposure to the risks from vibrating tools was sufficiently risk assessed and managed. Mold Magistrates’ Court heard that Westbridge Furniture Designs Limited did not have a thorough risk assessment, adequate controls to manage exposure to vibration, or any health surveillance in place.  They also failed to assess or take any action, following a diagnosis of carpal tunnel syndrome for two employees.

Following an investigation by the Health and Safety Executive (HSE) in January 2020, it was discovered that, despite a HSE intervention in 2016, the company failed to properly assess the levels of exposure to their employees. This resulted in at least two employees being expected to carry out their normal duties, even though they had been diagnosed with carpal tunnel syndrome. One of the employees has suffered permanent nerve damage and is no longer able to work.

Westbridge Furniture Designs Limited of Greenfield Business Park, Greenfield, Holywell pleaded guilty to breaching Section 2(1) of the Health and Safety at Work etc Act 1974. The company was fined £150,000.00 and ordered to pay costs of £14,033.50.