HSE: Latest Prosecution Results: April Edition
Company fined after worker crushed to death
A company in Doncaster has been fined after an employee was killed when a mixer wagon fell onto him.
The 52-year-old man was fatally crushed by the vehicle at Booth Mixer Hire Limited’s site at Bankend Quarry on 9 December 2019.
He had been replacing the wagon’s two front wheels when it fell on top of him.
With the existing wheels already removed, the worker entered the underside of the vehicle and attempted to prop it higher up using a bottle jack. It was at this point when the wagon fell onto the worker.
A Health and Safety Executive (HSE) investigation into this incident found Booth Mixer Hire Limited failed to carry out a suitable and sufficient risk assessment for replacing the wheels on the wagon. The firm had also failed to put in place a system of work that ensured the work could be carried out safely. It also failed to consider the use of alternative equipment, such as a trolley jack, which would have allowed the vehicle to be jacked from outside the danger zone.
HSE guidance states employers must make sure there are safe working procedures in place when moving heavy loads and ensure all lifting points for jacks and stands are correct for that vehicle. More on this can be found at: Working under vehicles (hse.gov.uk)
Booth Mixer Hire Limited, of Bankend Road, Blaxton, Doncaster, pleaded guilty to breaching Section 2(1) of the Health and Safety at Work etc. Act 1974. The company was fined £50,000 and ordered to pay £16,717.15 in costs at Sheffield Magistrates’ Court on 2 April 2024.
HSE inspector John Boyle said: “This tragic incident could have been avoided by assessing the risk and implementing safe working practices.
“Companies should be aware that HSE will not hesitate to take appropriate enforcement action against those that fall below the required standards.”
This prosecution was brought by HSE enforcement lawyer Jonathan Bambro and supported by HSE paralegal officer Louisa Shaw.
Rogue trader spared immediate spell behind bars after unsafe gas work
A self-employed rogue trader has been handed a suspended prison sentence after carrying out illegal gas work in Gloucestershire.
Christian Davis falsely claimed he was Gas Safe Registered but had actually been removed from the register due to concerns about the standard of his work and his competency.
Trading as BS1 Plumbing and Heating, the 45-year-old carried out illegal work as part of the renovation of a mobile park home in Hallen between June and July 2020. Some of that work included the installation of pipework, a boiler and gas hob. The illegal work resulted in significant expenditure for the property owner.
The new LPG boiler was fitted with a securing clamp missing from the chimney/flue with a gap clearly visible
An investigation by the Health and Safety Executive (HSE) found that Davis had carried out the work while not registered with the Gas Safe Register.
He was handed a 48-week suspended prison sentence by a District Judge sitting at Bristol Magistrates’ Court on 17 April 2024. She told him ‘everyone in court agrees you could have killed someone’ and added she was relieved to find out he no longer held himself as competent to carry out gas work. Davis now runs a burger restaurant and has no connection to the plumbing and gas trade.
The gas hob which was found to be ‘immediately dangerous’ with a yellow flame due to improper combustion. Bubbles can also be seen emanating from the solder joint underneath the hob.
Christian Davis, of Callington Road, Brislington, Bristol pleaded guilty to breaching Regulations 3(1), 3(3) and 3(7) of the Gas Safety (Installation and use) Regulations 1998. He was given a 48-week custodial sentence, suspended for two years. He must also pay £3,000 in compensation to the homeowner and £5,000 in costs. The prosecution was brought by HSE enforcement lawyer Samantha Wells and paralegal Helen Jacob.
HSE inspector Alex Stobart, who led the investigation, emphasised the risks associated with unqualified gas work, stating: “Those who undertake gas work without the relevant competence or qualifications put members of the public at risk of death or serious injury.
“We will hold rogue gas traders to account. Gas engineers must be registered with the Gas Safe Register, and we encourage the public to verify an engineer’s credentials online.
“Unfortunately rouge traders such as Mr Davis continue to trade and undertake gas work without having the relevant registration, competence, or qualification required to perform gas work safely.”
Aviation company fined after worker death at Heathrow Airport
An aviation company has been fined £160,000 after a man, described by his family as a “legend”, was crushed to death at London Heathrow Airport during the unloading of baggage containers from an aircraft.
The man was working for Dnata Limited, a provider of ground handling and cargo services to major airlines, at Terminal 3 on 23 February 2022. He had arrived at the stand with a set of trailers to collect baggage containers which were being unloaded from the hold of an Emirates Airbus A380 aircraft which had just arrived from Dubai.
The man moved around one of the trailers and under a type of scissor lift known as a high-loader; a raised platform being used to bring the containers to ground level. At this time the high-loader operator lowered one of its two hydraulically operated platforms, which was holding two further containers to be collected, and it crushed the employee.
A Health and Safety Executive (HSE) investigation found that the operators’ visibility of the area underneath the rear of the platform was almost completely obscured.
However, Dnata did not have any engineering controls installed on its high-loaders, such as sensors, to detect if people were underneath raised platforms before they were lowered, or to stop movement of platforms in these circumstances. It also did not have any mandatory communication systems in place to ensure operators were informed that it was safe for them to lower platforms.
A spindle locking mechanism to secure containers on the baggage trailer being used by the employee was broken at the time of the incident, and it is thought that this prompted him to move to the other side of the trailer to attempt to operate it from that position. Although another employee had reported defects on the trailer more than two weeks before the incident and it should have been removed from service, the defects were not entered into the company’s maintenance system, and it was available for use on the night of the incident without having been repaired.
HSE has guidance on the safe use of lifting equipment. This sets out what businesses should do to comply with the Lifting Operations and Lifting Equipment Regulations 1998 (LOLER).
The wife of the employee said: “My husband absolutely loved work. He called his work colleagues his second family. He used to be so excited to go into work. He used to love making tea for everyone during tea breaks and used to buy tea bags and take them into work especially for that reason.
“The future plans I had with my husband are ruined. After retirement, we were both going to go on religious pilgrimages and also holidays together, go on experiences together, enjoy the time with our children together. Now I face the rest of my life without my best friend and companion.”
His children added: “He was the rock of our whole family. He was such a happy, positive, funny, loving, supportive dad. He had an infectious personality and was loved by many in his community. His presence is greatly missed at family gatherings and events. They are no longer the same. He was a legend.
“We can no longer go to an airport without being reminded that this was a place where our father died. Each of us has had to have counselling to help us to come to terms with and process what has happened, and we were each off work for a long period of time. However, it cannot heal the pain that we feel.”
Dnata Limited, of Dakota House, Poyle Road, Colnbrook, Berkshire pleaded guilty to breaches of Regulation 8(1) of the Lifting Operations and Lifting Equipment Regulations 1998 and Regulation 5(1) of the Provision and Use of Work Equipment Regulations 1998. The company was fined £160,000 and ordered to pay £6,494.25 in costs at Westminster Magistrates’ Court on 17 April 2024.
HSE inspector Gordon Carson said: “Although Dnata had identified a risk of employees being crushed by the platforms of high-loaders, the measures it had put in place before this incident occurred failed to ensure that work in close proximity to these machines could be carried out safely. Numerous hazards exist during airport ground handling activities and companies providing these services should ensure their activities comply with UK health and safety legislation.”
This prosecution was brought by HSE enforcement lawyer Rebecca Schwartz and supported by HSE paralegal officer Gabrielle O’Sullivan.
Company fined as worker has leg amputated
A company that grows mushrooms has been fined after an employee’s leg became trapped in a machine and was later amputated.
Luka Ilic’s right leg was caught by the rotating blades of a mushroom filling machine and became stuck in the device’s moving parts on 16 October 2019.
He was part of a team of three at Howden Enterprises Ltd, trading under the name Hughes Mushrooms, that were cleaning the machine at the firm’s premises in Holme-on-Spalding-Moor, East Yorkshire.
The then 29-year-old climbed onto the machine, which is used to prepare and fill compost in growing trays, to remove the last remaining parts of the compost.
The machine was then turned on, leading to Mr Ilic’s leg being caught by the rotating blades in the mixing axle and becoming trapped.
A Health and Safety Executive (HSE) investigation into this incident found Howden Enterprises Ltd failed to adequately assess the operation of the filling machine, in particular the cleaning of the machine. The firm failed to ensure there robust isolation and safe operating procedures were in place and followed.
HSE guidance can be found at: Provision and Use of Work Equipment Regulations 1998 (PUWER) (hse.gov.uk)
Howden Enterprises Ltd, of Trew Mount Road, Dungannon, County Tyrone, Northern Ireland, pleaded guilty to breaching Section 2(1) of the Health and Safety at Work etc. Act 1974. The company was fined £73,333.00 and ordered to pay £7,522.60 in costs at Hull and Holderness Magistrates Court on 10 April 2024.
HSE inspector Louise Redgrove said: “The importance of a suitable and sufficient risk assessment which reflects all actual practical activities cannot be underestimated. It is vital to ensure there are effective systems of work and physical controls which are implemented, supervised and used by all those involved. This incident could have easily been avoided with a robust isolation procedure and padlock for each worker involved.”
This prosecution was brought by HSE enforcement lawyer Iain Jordan and supported by HSE paralegal officer Rebecca Whithell.
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