Health and safety sentencing
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Legal Development 18 January 2024 18 January 2024
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UK & Europe
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MGA
Health and safety sentencing update
| Date | Turnover/size of company (N.B approx only) | Court | Fine | Sector | Incident type |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 15th Dec |
£10,255 million
|
Chelmsford Crown Court |
£1,031,250
|
Gas |
An offshore worker’s feet were crushed while walking along a gangway over the North Sea. Both of his feet got trapped as the gangway telescoped together. He narrowly avoided having both of his feet amputated. |
| 22nd Nov | £596.4 million | Lincoln Magistrates’ Court | £700,000 | Manufacturing | An employee was cleaning the defendant food manufacturer’s batter system machinery. He attempted to remove string dangling from a chute when his left hand was drawn in and contacted the machine’s rotary valve. His index and middle finger were later amputated as a result of the incident. The defendant had failed to provide appropriate guarding to prevent access to the dangerous parts of machinery, namely the rotary valve. It had not conducted an adequate risk assessment of the batter machine and had not provided employees with adequate health and safety training or supervision. The defendant pleaded guilty to breaching section 2(1) of the Health and Safety at Work etc. Act 1974 and section 11(1) of Provision and Use of Work Equipment Regulations 1998. |
| 14th Nov | £108.6 million | Birmingham Magistrates’ Court | £320,000 | Manufacturing | The defendant manufactures shopping trolleys. Two of its employees fell approximately three metres when a metal cage they were dismantling collapsed beneath them. One man suffered a broken pelvis, and injured his hip and arm. The work had not been properly planned, appropriately supervised, or carried out in a manner that was safe. No consideration was given to whether the work could be carried out not at height. None of the employees involved were trained in the assembly of scaffolding towers, and the injured man was not trained in working at height. The defendant pleaded guilty to breaching regulation 4(1) of the Work at Height Regulations 2005. |
| 23rd Nov | £19.3 million | Leicester Magistrates’ Court | £233,000 | Agriculture | The victim had been working for the defendant poultry farm for two weeks when he was crushed between a wall and a HGV. The HGV was attempting a complex manoeuvre towards a narrow thoroughfare at the defendant’s premises as he was walking towards it. Measures in place for segregating pedestrians and moving vehicles were wholly inadequate. The defendant pleaded guilty to breaching regulation 17 of the Workplace (Health, Safety and Welfare) Regulations 1992. |
| 19th Dec | £8.6 million | Westminster Magistrates’ Court | £120,000 | Hospitality | A bartender working for the defendant’s nightclub mistakenly gave customers caustic soda instead of salt with their tequila shots. The bartender prepared the drinks and while doing so, realised there was no salt to accompany the tequila shots. He went to an unlit area behind the bar and used a disposable plastic cup to scoop what he believed was salt from a large white container that was on a shelf. Four customers were treated in hospital. The defendant pleaded guilty to four charges under section 3 of the Health and Safety at Work etc. Act 1974. |
| 27th Oct | Small company | Liverpool Magistrates’ Court | £240,000 | Construction | The defendant construction company had been contracted to remove cladding from a block of flats. Combustible material had been exposed with no protection from potential sources of ignition, and combustible cladding material was found lying on residents’ balconies. The defendant had failed to take appropriate precautions to address the risk of fire and to ensure the safety of residents, workers, and others. The defendant pleaded guilty to breaching regulations 11(1) and 13(1) of the Construction (Design and Management) Regulations 2015. |
| 27th Nov | Small company | Lincoln Magistrates’ Court | £10,000 | Manufacturing | The defendant’s workers were being potentially exposed to welding fume and dusts from powder coating at the defendant’s manufacturing site. An on-tool extraction system on the welding tools was in a poor state of repair and local exhaust ventilation systems, provided to capture welding fume and dusts from powder coating in order to protect employees’ health, had not been thoroughly examined and tested. The defendant had previously been warned about its local exhaust ventilation systems, during a previous HSE inspection. The defendant was served with Improvement Notices following issues with local exhaust ventilation systems. The company failed to comply and was prosecuted as a result. The defendant pleaded guilty to breaching regulation 9(1) and regulation 9(2) of the Control of Substances Hazardous to Health Regulations 2002. |
| 14th Dec | Micro company | Westminster Magistrates’ Court | £12,000 | Transport |
A customer was crushed by his own vehicle at the defendant garage. He spent six days in a critical care unit and has been left with permanent and life changing injuries. |
| 11th Oct | Micro company | Westminster Magistrates’ Court | £40,000 | Waste | The defendant recycling company failed to maintain the lifting equipment on a refuse vehicle which caused the death of an employee. The victim had been unloading glass bottles from the refuse vehicle at an unloading bay at the site before he became trapped between the vehicle’s tailgate and hopper. He sustained multiple crush injuries and died in hospital four days later. Multiple faults with the refuse vehicle’s lifting equipment were identified, with some parts excessively worn and even missing. The equipment had not been thoroughly examined by a competent person after the defendant purchased the vehicle two years before the incident. The defendant pleaded guilty to breaches of regulation 9(3) of the Lifting Operations and Lifting Equipment Regulations 1998 and regulation 5(1) of the Provision and Use of Work Equipment Regulations 1998. |
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