Health and safety

A contractor has been handed a fine after he failed to carry out a suitable assessment for the removal of asbestos from a building he had been due to demolish.

Luton Magistrates Court heard how Anthony West had arranged for a pre-demolition asbestos survey to be undertaken but did not check the results.

Shortly before the demolition work was due to start, a member of the public reported the failure to the HSE, which prompted a full-scale investigation into Mr West’s working practices.

It was revealed during this inspection that Mr West hadn’t properly checked the pre-demolition asbestos survey before carrying out the work. The HSE also found out that Mr West failed to follow advice that he should use a licensed asbestos removal contractor.

Mr West pleaded guilty to breaching sections 5, 7, 8 and 16 of the Control of Asbestos Regulations 2012 and has been fined £2,970 and ordered to pay costs of £5,419.

Following the verdict, HSE inspector Alison Outhwaite said: “The safety failings in this case could have led to severe illness in later years.

Lara Murray an Associate with Palmers, who specialises in health and safety legal matters, said: “The dangers of asbestos are well known and the correct assessments need to be carried out.

“On this occasion, the contractor did only half a job – carrying out the assessment but failing to act on it – and so suffered the legal consequences. The irony of this case is that the combined fine and court fees far outweigh the cost of the remedial work that should have been carried out.

“Asbestos assessments are a legal requirement for good reason – they are in place to protect against exposure to potentially lethal asbestos fibres. Cutting corners – by failing to carry out or act upon surveys – is extremely hazardous and contractors have a duty of care to ensure members of the public, their fellow workers and ultimately themselves are protected from any undue risk.”

For legal advice on health and safety at work, please contact us.

A landfill company has been fined £180,000 after a worker was run over and had to have both legs amputated.

Mold Crown Court was told that the employee, who has not been named, had been walking across the yard at the landfill site in Llanidloes in Mid Wales when he was hit by a large shovel loader. The worker suffered such severe injuries that surgeons were unable to save his legs, resulting in him being hospitalised for six months.

An investigation by the Health and Safety Executive (HSE) into the incident, which happened in November 2015, discovered that although the company had previously identified the risk and how they could prevent workers being hit by vehicles they had not acted on this by putting in place controls to protect workers from the high volume of vehicles and traffic on site.

Sundorne Products (Llanidloes) Limited, part of the Potter Group, pleaded guilty to breaching Section 2 and Section 3 of the Health and Safety at Work (1974) Act and in addition to being fined £180,000 were ordered to pay costs of £7,657.10.

HSE inspector Mhairi Duffy said, “It is extremely important to identify how to protect your workers but you must back this up with action. This worker and his family’s lives have been changed forever because Sundorne Products Ltd failed to take action and protect their workers from being run over by vehicles on the site.

“All businesses that have high volumes of vehicles on their site can learn from this case.”

Lara Murray, an Associate and health and safety legal expert with Palmers, said: “Risk assessments exist for a reason – they should not be viewed as a box ticking exercise, to be consigned to a filing cabinet.

“By acting upon the findings of a risk assessment and making controls part of the daily workplace routine, a company is not only protecting its workers or members of the public from harm, but also minimising the risk of legal action and loss of reputation.

“In particular, any company which has moving vehicles or plant on-site, should learn from this case and ensure that their employees are properly protected.”

For advice on all aspects of employment law including putting in place a legally compliant risk assessment for your company, please contact us.

An engineering company’s failure to undertake a correct risk assessment of its working practices led to two of its employees suffering life threatening injuries from chemical burns and the company being fined £150,000.

PSL Worldwide Projects Ltd was sentenced this month by Newcastle Court for safety breaches which took place in July 2014.

Newcastle Crown Court heard how the workers had been using Sodium Hydroxide granules to clean a pipe system. A reaction occurred between the chemicals and water in the system that caused the liquid to heat up building up pressure in the hose. The hose detached, spraying both workers with the solution.

One operative received life threatening burns to his back, buttocks, arms, leg, neck and one side of his face. The other worker received burns to the right side of his head, neck, and back, left arm and right ear.

An investigation by the Health and Safety Executive (HSE) identified that the task had not been adequately risk assessed by PSL Worldwide Projects Ltd. The company had provided equipment, in particular the hosing, which was not suitable for the task. It also found that the company failed to provide adequate personal protective equipment (PPE) to its employees.

PSL Worldwide Projects Ltd of Washington, Tyne and Wear, pleaded not guilty to breaching Section 2(1) of the Health and Safety at Work Act 1974 on 28 November 2016 at Bedlington Magistrates Court but they were found guilty and the case was referred to Newcastle Crown Court for sentencing. In January 2017 they were fined £150,000 by Newcastle Crown Court.

After the hearing, HSE inspector Laura Catterall commented: “If a suitable risk assessment had been undertaken it would have identified that the equipment being used was not right for the chemicals or the work being carried out.”

Lara Murray, an Associate and health and safety legal expert with Palmers, said: “Risk assessments exist for a reason – they should not be viewed as simply a box ticking exercise – but should allow companies to identify any risks which might put their employees or members of the public in danger, which in turn could put the company at risk of legal action and loss of reputation.

“In particular, any company which works with hazardous substances should learn from this case and ensure that their workers are properly protected.”

For advice on all aspects of employment law including putting in place a legally compliant risk assessment for your company, please contact us.

An engineering company’s failure to undertake a correct risk assessment of its working practices led to two of its employees suffering life threatening injuries from chemical burns and the company being fined £150,000.

PSL Worldwide Projects Ltd was sentenced this month by Newcastle Court for safety breaches which took place in July 2014.

Newcastle Crown Court heard how the workers had been using Sodium Hydroxide granules to clean a pipe system. A reaction occurred between the chemicals and water in the system that caused the liquid to heat up building up pressure in the hose. The hose detached, spraying both workers with the solution.

One operative received life threatening burns to his back, buttocks, arms, leg, neck and one side of his face. The other worker received burns to the right side of his head, neck, and back, left arm and right ear.

An investigation by the Health and Safety Executive (HSE) identified that the task had not been adequately risk assessed by PSL Worldwide Projects Ltd. The company had provided equipment, in particular the hosing, which was not suitable for the task. It also found that the company failed to provide adequate personal protective equipment (PPE) to its employees.

PSL Worldwide Projects Ltd of Washington, Tyne and Wear, pleaded not guilty to breaching Section 2(1) of the Health and Safety at Work Act 1974 on 28 November 2016 at Bedlington Magistrates Court but they were found guilty and the case was referred to Newcastle Crown Court for sentencing. In January 2017 they were fined £150,000 by Newcastle Crown Court.

After the hearing, HSE inspector Laura Catterall commented: “If a suitable risk assessment had been undertaken it would have identified that the equipment being used was not right for the chemicals or the work being carried out.”

Lara Murray, an Associate and health and safety legal expert with Palmers, said: “Risk assessments exist for a reason – they should not be viewed as simply a box ticking exercise – but should allow companies to identify any risks which might put their employees or members of the public in danger, which in turn could put the company at risk of legal action and loss of reputation.

“In particular, any company which works with hazardous substances should learn from this case and ensure that their workers are properly protected.”

For advice on all aspects of employment law including putting in place a legally compliant risk assessment for your company, please contact us.

A homeware firm has been fined £2.2 million – the largest financial penalty ever to be handed out following a local authority prosecution – after a worker fell from a wooden platform and suffered a fatal head injury.

Judge Francis Sheridan branded Decco Ltd’s health and safety procedures as “idiotic” and “wholly inadequate” after the fatal incident claimed the life of a temporary worker, who had only been employed at the company’s Chesham site for one week.

William Richardson’s family were in court to hear how he had been unloading pallets when he slipped on the wet wooden platform and fell eight feet onto a concrete floor. He was flown to hospital by air ambulance but died eight days later, having never regained consciousness.

Judge Sheridan imposed the £2.2 million fine after hearing that spring-loaded gates designed to protect workers from the platform edge at Decco’s 30-acre industrial site were badly worn. The barriers had not been fixed even though industry guidelines, issued seven years earlier, had warned of the dangers.

Judge Sheridan said: "The design was a ‘Heath Robinson’ do-it-yourself contraption, in my view. The whole of the edge was unguarded which was simply disgraceful.

"This was an obvious danger. With or without safety advice, it would be idiotic to proceed without having regard to that.

"One doesn’t need guidance, one just needs a modicum of common sense to realise this system was wholly inadequate and a disaster waiting to happen.

"Those responsible for this company should hang their heads in shame at the failings that led to a man’s death."

Judge Sheridan, sitting at Aylesbury Crown Court, heard that Chiltern District Council had subsequently issued the company with an improvement notice.

Lara Murray, an Associate with Palmers, who specialises in health and safety law, said: “This wholly avoidable fatal incident occurred because safe systems of work were not in place; the court heard how Mr Richardson had been working at the company as a temporary member of staff and had not received any training or safety briefings.

“This, added to the make-shift safety gates which were clearly not fit for purpose, resulted in the judge handing down a record fine. This case sends a message to employers that it is simply not worth cutting corners when it comes to health and safety matters as breaches may result in serious injuries or fatalities, as well as hefty financial penalties.

“It also serves as a timely reminder for all businesses to review their own risk assessments and employee training manuals.”

For help and advice on updating your businesses’ risk assessments and employee training manuals, please contact us.