Fine for council after man ‘who loved life’ killed by falling tree
Cheshire East Council (the council) has been fined £500,000 after ‘the most amazing man’ was killed by a falling tree.
Christopher Hall, 48, from Wilmslow, was walking his dog in The Carrs – one of the town’s parks – on 28 August 2020, when the large limb of a tree fell and struck him. He received multiple injuries and sadly died at the scene.
Less than a year before, another large limb from the same tree had fallen off but the incident was never investigated by the council or its ground maintenance company Ansa Environmental Services Limited. As the District Judge sentenced both at Chester Magistrates Court on 8 November 2024 he said that the previous incident should have “acted as a wake-up call”.
An investigation by the Health and Safety Executive (HSE) found that when same tree had shed another large limb in September 2019, no investigation was carried out by those responsible to assess whether the tree posed a future safety risk. The council, who controlled the park, did not have a formal overarching tree strategy to manage the risks from trees in public places, and their grounds services contractor, Ansa Environmental Services Limited, had no robust tree management policy.
Company fined after worker killed by telehandler
A construction company has been fined £160,000 after a man was killed by a telehandler at a house build site in Glasgow.
Scott Bradley had been reversing the vehicle at the Stepford Road site when it slid down an embankment and overturned on 11 May 2022.
The 44-year-old, employed by Merchant Homes Partnership Limited, had been using the telehandler to move scaffolding behind houses that had been partially built.
Despite the efforts of colleagues and the emergency services, Mr Bradley died from crush injuries at the scene.
An investigation by the Health and Safety Executive (HSE) and Police Scotland found Merchant Homes Partnership Limited, the principal contractor at the site, had not risk assessed the traffic route where the incident occurred.
Ginsters owner fined £1.28m after employee crushed to death by lorry
The owner of Ginsters has been fined £1.28 million after an employee was killed by a lorry that was delivering supplies to the bakery where it makes its pasties.
Paul Clarke was fatally crushed on 2 December 2021 after being struck by the vehicle as it reversed into a loading bay at The Cornwall Bakery, Callington, operated by Samworth Brothers.
He was taken via helicopter to Derriford Hospital, where he later lost his life.
The 40-year-old, who worked as an intake operator at the bakery, had been moving strip curtains in the loading bay before being struck by the lorry.
A Health and Safety Executive (HSE) investigation found Samworth Brothers had not assessed the risks associated with the temporarily installed strip curtains and that there was no safe system of work to move them out of the way when the lorries reversed into the loading bay. The strip curtains had been installed in place of a faulty roller door.
The site staff had not been provided with training or instructions to move the curtains and had devised their own methods, which included standing in the yard behind reversing vehicles. Mr Clarke was new to the role and was working his first lone shift. Management failings had not picked up the additional risks associated with this task.
Company fined after an explosion seriously injured two employees
A company which produces electricity from food waste by anaerobic digestion, has been fined more than £300,000 after an explosion caused two employees to suffer life changing injuries.
The metal tank the two men were working on was projected high into the air before crashing to the ground nine seconds later.
On 20 September 2017, two employees of Bio Dynamic (UK) Limited were using a grinder to cut and replace pipework at the top of an 11-metre high metal tank containing waste slurry. They were not using harnesses. Sparks from the grinder ignited flammable gasses causing the tank to explode.
Tomasz Patek was flung out of the mobile elevating work platform (MEWP) into the air and landed on the ground in the slurry around the tank. He suffered serious injuries to his back, head and torso and was in hospital for two months. His injuries were so severe that he was not able to work for more than two years.
Robert Tyrko was thrown into the air and landed back in the basket of the MEWP. Following the incident, Robert’s leg was amputated and he remains wheelchair bound as treatment is still ongoing to receive a prosthesis. Also, he sustained a fractured skull and a piece of metal in his elbow that continues to affect his daily life.
