£600,000 fine for ouncil contractor after major burns · 2018-10-03 · authorised with the...

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March 2017

Laing O’Rourke fined £800,000 after worker fatally crushed

Laing O’Rouke have been sentenced following

the death of Philip Griffiths at Heathrow

Airport in 2014.

Southwark Crown Court heard that Philip’s

brother Paul accidentally reversed into his 38-

year-old sibling when the pair were trying to

move a broken down scissor lift on a service

road.

Paul Griffiths tried to tow the scissor lift away

using a dumper truck under the direction of

managers. During the attempt his foot got

stuck between the brake and the accelerator

and the truck reversed. Philip, who was

standing between the two vehicles, suffered

crush injuries. He was pronounced dead at the

scene.

A Health and Safety Executive (HSE)

investigation found that neither worker was

authorised with the appropriate certificate to

use the dumper truck, and that the operation

was not properly overseen or managed.

Laing O’Rourke Construction Limited pleaded

guilty to breaching Regulation 22(1)(a) of the

Construction (Design and Management)

Regulations 2007, was fined £800,000 and

ordered to pay costs of £10,000.

Speaking after sentence, HSE Inspector Jack

Wilby said: “This incident was a tragedy for all

concerned and, as revealed by our

investigation, entirely avoidable.

“Laing O’Rourke did nothing to address the

trend of these workers carrying out tasks they

weren’t trained or authorised for. These

dedicated staff, including Philip and his

brother, needed appropriate supervision.

“Had there been appropriate supervision, then

better segregation between Philip and these

two vehicles could have been established and

maintained. This case should act as a reminder

of the dangers of using workplace transport

without proper planning, management or

monitoring of the risks involved.”

£600,000 fine for Council contractor after major burns

Gloucester Crown Court has heard how a 61-

year-old man was injured while working at a

site on 29 May 2015 .

He was trying to replace a traffic light pole

when he came into contact with a live

underground cable which immediately gave

him the electric shock and set him on fire. The

man, who was an employee of another

company asked by Amey to carry out the work,

received burns to his to hands, arms, stomach,

face, legs and chest.

An investigation by the Health and Safety

Executive (HSE) found that although this was

the first time this particular group of

individuals worked on an Amey project, Amey

did not provide adequate information on the

location of underground services in the area.

The inquiry also found that Amey’s supervision

of the work was not adequate, and it had not

properly managed the risks from the

underground services.

Amey LG Limited pleaded guilty to breaching

Regulation 25 (4) of the Construction (Design

and Management) Regulations 2015. The

company was fined £600,000 and ordered to

pay costs of £15,498.

After the hearing HSE Principal Inspector

Helena Tinton said: “Had Amey given adequate

information to the team working on site, and

had Amey ensured the work was properly

planned and supervised, this incident could

have been avoided.”


March 2017

Whirlpool fined following a fatal fall from a MEWP

Whirlpool UK Appliances Limited has been fined after a self-

employed contractor fell from a mobile elevated work

platform (MEWP) and later died from his injuries.

On 21 March 2015 the contractor had been working at a

height of nearly five metres installing revised fire detection

equipment, at the site of the former Indesit factory in Yate,

near Bristol. At the same time Whirlpool UK maintenance

workers started an overhead conveyor unaware that the

contractor was working nearby. The movement caused the

MEWP to tip over and the 66-year-old man fell to the factory

floor. He later died from his injuries.

A Health and Safety Executive (HSE) investigation found there

was no effective control or supervision in place to prevent the

conflicting work tasks from being undertaken at the same

time.

Whirlpool UK Appliances Limited pleaded guilty to breaching

Section 3 of the Health and Safety at Work Act 1974, have

been fined £700,000 and ordered to pay costs of £11,466.

Speaking after the hearing HSE inspector Matt Tyler said: “This

is a tragic case where the incident could have been prevented

if the company had planned and controlled the work

properly.”

An aircraft engineering company has been fined after two men

fell about 15 feet while they were carrying out checks at the

tail of an aeroplane.

Chelmsford Magistrates’ Court heard that an employee of

Inflite Engineering Services and an agency worker suffered

broken bones after the fall at Stansted Airport on 10 June

2015.

They were working either side of the tail using mobile elevated

work platforms when another employee closed the wrong

circuit breaker, inadvertently opening the plane’s airbrake,

which knocked over both platforms.

A Health and Safety Executive (HSE) investigation found that

no suitable risk assessment was in place and there was a lack

of effective monitoring.

Inflite Engineering Limited, based a Stansted Airport, pleaded

guilty to breaches under Sections 2 and 3 of the Health and

Safety at Work Act 1974. The company was fined £160,000

and ordered to pay costs of £5,492.90.

Speaking after the case, HSE Inspector Tania van Rixtel said:

“Both of these men suffered shocking injuries after falling from

height, which could easily have been a double fatality. Our

investigation found the incident could have been avoided had

adequate monitoring been taking place. Aircraft maintenance

companies are reminded that not all risks are covered by the

Aircraft Maintenance Manual and additional measures need to

be introduced.

Fall from a MEWP leads to a fine


March 2017

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March 2017

Landmark Japanese Knotweed case set to cost Network Rail millions of pounds

Network Rail is facing compensation claims that could total

tens of millions of pounds after a landmark court ruling on

damage caused to homes by Japanese knotweed growing on

its land.

Neighbours Robin Waistell and Stephen Williams took on the

rail infrastructure management company after the plant,

growing on a railway embankment next to their bungalows,

spread into the foundations of their homes. The pair saw the

value of their properties almost halved because of the

invasion.

Japanese knotweed has been described by the Environment

Agency as “indisputably the UK’s most aggressive, destructive

and invasive plant”, it can grow to 3-4 metres in just 10

weeks. Underground, its roots – or rhizomes – can spread 7m

horizontally and can compromise the structure of buildings as

the plant’s roots can force their way through brick and

concrete, and it is difficult and expensive to eradicate them.

Despite the fact that it is such a serious problem for so many

homeowners, the law surrounding knotweed and property

owners’ responsibilities to their neighbours has been the

subject of very little judicial guidance, until now.

Neither Mr Waistell, 70, nor Mr Williams, 43, can sell their

homes because lenders will not give mortgages on properties

affected by knotweed.

Network Rail had previously settled cases out of court but

when the men sued for damages, the company decided to

fight them in an effort to put a stop to future claims.

But the neighbours successfully argued that the knotweed

roots encroached on their homes, causing a nuisance and

interfering with the ‘quiet enjoyment’ of their properties. The

applicants also wanted Network Rail to tackle the plant

because it grows so quickly in summer that it blocks their light.

After a four-day hearing at Cardiff County Court, Recorder

Andrew Grubb ruled in their favour and ordered the

Government body to pay £4,320 to each claimant to treat the

knotweed. And in what is being seen as a key test case, he also

awarded them £10,000 each in compensation for the fall in

value of their homes. Mr Waistell’s bungalow, which was

previously worth £135,000, is now valued at £69,000.

Crucially, the judge stressed that, if Network Rail failed to get

rid of the knotweed, Mr Waistell and Mr Williams could claim

for the full drop in the value of their homes.

The judgment discusses the three types of nuisance ((1)

encroachment with no physical damage, (2) encroachment

with physical damage, and (3) loss of enjoyment). The judge

found that the mere presence of knotweed on an adjoining

property was capable of being a nuisance if it interfered with

an individual’s ability to realise full market value for the

property.

Network Rail is considering is now considering taking the case

to the High Court.


March 2017

Fine following fragile roof fall

Two roofing companies have been fined after a worker fell

nine metres through a skylight onto concrete flooring below.

The man suffered life changing injuries and required surgery to

install metal rods into his back.

Coventry Magistrates Court heard how ACG Roofing Limited

had been subcontracted by JDB Industrial Roofing Limited to

complete re-cladding work on the fragile roof. At the time of

the fall, on 15 December 2015, no nets or guardrails were

being used. The Mobile Elevating Working Platform which had

been provided as an anchor point for the fall arrest equipment

did not have enough capacity. When he fell the injured person

did not have his harness attached to anything.


JDB, the principal contractors of the work, failed to have

effective management systems in place to control the risk

associated with working at height and on fragile roofing.

JDB Industrial Roofing Limited pleaded guilty of breaching

Section 13(1) of the Construction (Design and Management)

Regulations 2015, has been fined £112,000 and ordered to pay

costs of £2216.68.

ACG Roofing Limited have pleaded guilty of breaching Section

4(1) of the Work at Height Regulations 2005 and have been

fined £35,000 and ordered to pay costs of £1721.78.

Speaking after the hearing HSE inspector Edward Fryer said:

“This incident could have been fatal; the worker has suffered

life changing injuries due to the company failing to properly

plan and supervise work at height.

A London based construction company has been fined for

safety failings after complaints from the public.

Basildon Magistrates’ Court heard how Malik Contractors and

Engineers Ltd were working at a site St John’s Way in

Corringham, Essex in 2016 when concerned members of the

public contacted the Health and Safety Executive (HSE).

Malik Contractors and Engineers Ltd were the principal

contractors for the development of a public house and 24 flats.

Acting on the public concerns, HSE carried out three

inspections of the site. On each visit the inspectors and visiting

officers found numerous breaches of health and safety

legislation, including dangerous electrical systems, unsafe

work at height across the site, and no fire detection alarm.

There was no fire-fighting equipment, despite workers

sleeping on site. As a result HSE issued four Prohibition Notices

(PNs) and three Improvement Notices (INs) on the firm.

Malik Contractors and Engineers Ltd of Neasden Goods Depot,

Neasden, London, was fined a total of £52,000, and ordered to

pay £4,415 in costs after pleading guilty to an offence under

Regulation 13(1) of The Construction Design and Management

Regulations 2015.

Speaking after the hearing HSE inspector David King said: “This

case highlights the importance complying with enforcement

action. Duty holders have the responsibility to provide their

workers with appropriate training and equipment so they can

work safely. In this case Malik Contractors failed to do so.

Arrow Recycling Ltd has been fined after a worker was left

fighting for his life after being crushed by about 400kg of

cardboard.

Wolverhampton Magistrates’ Court heard how Parvez Ahmed,

49, had been working on the recycling site in Smethwick, West

Midlands on 22 April 2016 when he was crushed under bale

stacks of falling cardboard.

Mr Ahmed suffered a cracked skull and a brain haemorrhage

from the incident and was placed into a coma for ten days in

hospital.

An investigation by the Health and Safety Executive found the

company failed to establish a safe way to stack bales. This

resulted in unstable and heavy bales which eventually fell

causing the injuries to Mr Ahmed.

Arrow Recycling Limited pleaded guilty of reaching Regulation

10(4) of the Work at Height Regulations 2005, and have been

fined £160,000 and ordered to pay costs of £2917.

Speaking after the hearing HSE Inspector Mahesh Mahey said:

“This incident highlights the need for employers to devise and

implement safe systems of work in relation to storage of baled

materials.

“If the company had safe systems of work in place Mr Ahmed

would not have been seriously injured.”

PC fined for safety failings £160,000 fine following crush injury


March 2017

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PUWER fine following injury

A company that produces and supplies wood shavings for use

as horse bedding has been fined after a worker suffered a

serious foot injury at its site in Andover, Hampshire.

Basingstoke Magistrates’ Court heard that Bedmax Limited

failed to protect its employee from dangerous parts of

machinery. On 26 October 2015 Philip Eyers was operating

the log deck, which is part of a machine that shreds trees,

when his foot slipped and became lodged in a gap exposing

him to the wheels of the machine which conveyed the logs.

The severity of the injuries to his toes meant his big toe was

cut back several times, his other four were fractured and

eventually reconstructive surgery was required.


a panel that would have prevented access had been removed

and not replaced where the employee was working.

Bedmax Limited, whose office is in Belford, Northumberland,

pleaded guilty to breaching Regulation 11(1) of the Provision

and Use of Work Equipment Regulations 1998. The court

heard on 8 March 2017 that the company was fined

£17,293.60 and ordered to pay costs of £623.60.

Speaking after the judge passed sentence, HSE Inspector

Andrew Johnson said: “Bedmax fell below the expected

standard. The necessary panel that would have prevented

the incident was missing, rendering the man vulnerable as

soon as he took to his task. This was a fundamental and basic

health and safety failing which should have been easily

avoided.”

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March 2017

Kier fined following roof fall

Construction company Kier Construction Limited has been

fined £400,000 after a worker fell from height.

Westminster Magistrates’ Court heard how Jair Morales was

installing plywood boards covering holes on the third floor of

a building at a construction site in Uxbridge, Middlesex when

he fell a distance of 3.95m to the floor below.

The court heard no steps had been taken to prevent him

falling through the opening as he installed the plywood

boards. Mr Morales suffered fractures in his pelvis and his arm

following the fall and has been unable to work since the

accident.

An investigation by the Health and Safety Executive found that

Kier failed to ensure the work was properly planned and

carried out in a safe manner.

Kier Construction Limited pleaded guilty to breaching section 4

(1) of the Work at Height Regulations 2005, has been fined

£400,000 and ordered to pay costs of £1,534.

Speaking after the case HSE inspector Owen Rowley said: “This

incident could have been a lot worse. The system that Kier

Construction Ltd has in place to control the risk from installing

the protection for openings was not implemented on site,

ultimately resulting in the accident.

“The risks of working at height are widely recognised

throughout the construction industry. This case highlights the

importance of ensuring that all work at height is properly

planned and carried out safely.”

A family owned Norfolk farming company has been fined after

an employee died at its grain storage facility.

Norwich Crown Court heard that on 9 July 2014, Arthur

Mason, 21, took turns with a colleague to undertake cleaning

work inside grain bins at Hall Farm, Fincham, near Kings Lynn,

run by Maurice Mason Ltd.

He was standing directly on the stored grain, using a broom to

clean down the exposed inner surfaces of the bin. He wore a

harness fitted with a fall-arrest lanyard, which was secured to

a fixed ladder inside the bin.

He began to sink into the grain, which was emptying slowly

through a small opening at the bottom of the bin several feet

below its surface.

The court heard that any such movement or cavity in grain

may be enough to create a ‘quicksand’ like effect.

The forces involved caused the fall-arrest component of the

lanyard to unravel and extend. This caused him to sink still

deeper into the grain. After alerting colleagues, who tried to

assist, he swiftly became engulfed in the grain and

subsequently drowned, despite most determined rescue

efforts by farmworkers and emergency services.

An investigation by Health and Safety Executive (HSE) found

that the employer of the deceased, Maurice Mason Ltd, failed

to adequately identify and manage the risks associated with

cleaning grain stores. There was no safe system of work in

place for this task, nor had anyone involved been provided

with suitable training in how to complete it safely.

Maurice Mason Ltd of Hall Farm, Fincham, Kings Lynn, Norfolk,

pleaded guilty to breaching Section 2 (1) of the Health and

Safety at Work etc Act 1974, and was fined £50,000 and

ordered to pay prosecution costs of £22,000.

Farm company fined following the death of an employee

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March 2017

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courses are on our website at:

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Accredited online training courses at affordable prices £300,000 fine following leg injury

A producer of concrete blocks has been fined £300,000

after an employee had to have a leg amputated.

Newcastle-under-Lyme Magistrates’ Court heard the 42-

year-old man was working near a trailer on 30 June 2015,

as large concrete blocks were being unloaded onto the

outside yard area of Buchan Concrete Solutions Ltd’s

Drakelow site in Burton-on-Trent.

The man was removing wooden struts that the concrete

blocks had been resting on, while the concrete blocks were

unloaded by a forklift. One of the blocks slipped off from

the forklift, and fell onto the worker.

He was taken to hospital for treatment to serious crush

injuries to one of his legs. The leg was eventually

amputated from the shin down.

An investigation by the Health and Safety Executive (HSE)

found the unloading operation was not properly planned,

the forklift truck’s weight capacity of five tonnes was not

enough to be able to cope with the weight of the blocks,

and the worker should not have been in the vicinity while

the concrete blocks were being lifted.

Buchan Concrete Solutions Ltd (now in administration)

pleaded guilty to Regulation 8 of the Lifting Operations and

Lifting Equipment Regulations 1998, was given a £300,000

fine and also ordered to pay £10,092.42 in costs.

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March 2017

PUWER fine following injury

A company that produces and supplies wood shavings for use

as horse bedding has been fined after a worker suffered a

serious foot injury at its site in Andover, Hampshire.

Basingstoke Magistrates’ Court heard that Bedmax Limited

failed to protect its employee from dangerous parts of

machinery.

On 26 October 2015 Philip Eyers was operating the log deck,

which is part of a machine that shreds trees, when his foot

slipped and became lodged in a gap exposing him to the

wheels of the machine which conveyed the logs. The severity

of the injuries to his toes meant his big toe was cut back

several times, his other four were fractured and eventually

reconstructive surgery was required.

A Health and Safety Executive (HSE) investigation found that a

panel that would have prevented access had been removed

and not replaced where the employee was working.

Bedmax Limited, whose office is in Belford, Northumberland,

pleaded guilty to breaching Regulation 11(1) of the Provision

and Use of Work Equipment Regulations 1998. The court

heard on 8 March 2017 that the company was fined

£17,293.60 and ordered to pay costs of £623.60.

Speaking after the judge passed sentence, HSE Inspector

Andrew Johnson said: “Bedmax fell below the expected

standard. The necessary panel that would have prevented the

incident was missing, rendering the man vulnerable as soon as

he took to his task. This was a fundamental and basic health

and safety failing which should have been easily avoided.”

A Kent based haulage company has been sentenced after an

employee fell four and a half metres through a fragile sky light

onto a concrete floor while cleaning a roof.

Southwark Crown Court heard that a 29-year-old HGV driver

employed by Erith Haulage Company Limited sustained

significant injuries when he fell at the company’s premises at

Anchor Bay Wharf in the town.

The cleaning was undertaken by two drivers, requested by the

company’s driver foreman and took place on the weekend of

the 17 and 18 January 2015. A Mobile Elevated Work Platform

(MEWP) was hired for the cleaning, but when one of the

drivers could not reach a section of the roof from the MEWP

he got out and stood on the roof.

The Health and Safety Executive (HSE) prosecuting told the

court the roof in question was metal with gutters running

along it. Dirty skylights were located in strips over the portion

of roof, making them a similar colour to the roof. After some

time cleaning, the driver noticed a section of roof left

uncleaned and while walking along a section of the roof he

fell through a skylight. He landed on a concrete floor 4.5

metres below.

The HSE prosecuted the company for its failure to ensure that

work at height was properly planned, appropriately supervised

and carried out in a manner which was safe, so far as

reasonably practicable. The court heard neither driver had

received training or knowledge regarding the use of the

MEWP, no edge protection was in place around the roof edges

to prevent falls from height, no harness or netting was used

(e.g. harnesses or netting) to minimise the distance or

consequences of a fall, the fragile roof lights were not covered

or edge protected to prevent falls from height.

The fall caused the man to spend a month in hospital

sustaining significant injuries including a fracture to the base of

his skull, multiple facial fractures, and whiplash. He also

suffered damage to bones in both arms which needed pins and

plates, as well as leg injuries.

Erith Haulage Company Limited pleaded guilty to breaching

Regulation 4(1) of The Work at Height Regulations 2005, was

fined £215,000 and ordered to pay full costs of £10,622.

After the hearing, HSE inspector Megan Carr said: “I want this

case to raise awareness within the industry and amongst

companies in general, that proper planning and operation of

work at height is imperative. This case highlights the very

serious consequences that may arise from oversight.”

Sentence after worker seriously injured following a fall through a fragile roof

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March 2017

'Extreme and unusual' climate trends continue after record 2016

In the atmosphere, the seas and around the poles, climate

change is reaching disturbing new levels across the Earth.

That's according to a detailed global analysis from the World

Meteorological Organization (WMO). (See: https://

public.wmo.int/en/media/press-release )

It says that 2016 was not only the warmest year on record, but

it saw atmospheric CO2 rise to a new high, while Arctic sea ice

recorded a new winter low.

Global temperature departures from the long-term average in

January this year

The "extreme and unusual" conditions have continued in 2017,

it says.

Reports earlier this year from major scientific bodies -

including the UK's Met Office, Nasa and NOAA - indicated that

2016 was the warmest year on record.

The WMO's State of the Global Climate 2016 report builds on

this research with information from 80 national weather

services to provide a deeper and more complete picture of the

year's climate data.

Compared with the 1961-1990 reference period, 2016 was

0.83 degrees C warmer than the average. It was around 1.1C

above the pre-industrial period, and at 0.06C just a fraction

warmer than the previous warmest year record in 2015.

"This increase in global temperature is consistent with other

changes occurring in the climate system," said WMO Secretary

-General, Petteri Taalas.

"Globally averaged sea-surface temperatures were also the

warmest on record, global sea-levels continued to rise, and

Arctic sea-ice extent was well below average for most of the

year," he said.

In the Arctic, temperatures were about 3 degrees C above the

1961-1990 average. In Svalbard, the Norwegian island high in

the Arctic circle, the yearly average was 6.5 degrees above the

long-term mark.

The report says that temperatures in 2016 were "substantially

influenced" by the El Niño weather phenomenon, contributing

0.1 to 0.2 degrees on top of the longer-term warming driven

by emissions of CO2.

However, El Niño also had an influence on the levels of the gas

in the atmosphere.

"The CO2 rise in 2016 was the fastest on record - 3.4ppm

(parts per million) per year - because the El Niño weakened

the tropical carbon sink and gave the ongoing CO2 rise an

extra kick on top of the effect of human emissions," said

Professor Richard Betts from the Met Office Hadley Centre.

"As a result, 2016 became the first year in which CO2

measurements at Mauna Loa remained above 400ppm all year

round."

The report states that extreme weather events in 2016

included severe droughts in southern and eastern Africa, and

in Central America. Hurricane Matthew in the North Atlantic

was one of the most damaging weather-related disasters,

leaving hundreds of dead and swathes of destruction across

Haiti.

The WMO says that the "extreme and unusual" climate and

weather trends have continued into 2017. At least three times

this winter, the Arctic experienced the equivalent of a

heatwave, as powerful Atlantic storms drove warm, moist air

into the region.

Changes in the Arctic and the melting of sea-ice are also

leading to a shift in atmospheric circulation patterns impacting

other parts of the world. This is causing unusual heat in some

areas - In the US, over 11,000 warm temperature records were

broken in early 2017.

"Even without a strong El Niño in 2017, we are seeing other

remarkable changes across the planet that are challenging the

limits of our understanding of the climate system. We are now

in truly uncharted territory," said David Carlson, World Climate

Research Programme Director at the WMO.

https://public.wmo.int/en/media/press-release

https://public.wmo.int/en/media/press-release


March 2017

A company and a self employed contractor have been fined for

safety failings after one man died and another was left

seriously injured after falling six storeys through a lift shaft.

Southwark Crown Court heard on 17 January 2011 work was

being carried out to decommission a lift shaft in a building that

was being converted into luxury apartments. A chain

supporting the lift car broke while two men were working on

top of it, causing it to fall to the bottom of the shaft.

One of the men was wearing a harness attached to the top of

the lift car. Because he fell in the space between the car and

shaft, he survived with serious injuries. The other man was not

wearing a harness and died instantly.

The Health and Safety Executive (HSE) carried out an

investigation and found that the planning and management of

the project was inadequate in relation to work at height and

the lift decommissioning work.

T E Scudder Ltd acted as the principal contractor and employer

on site. The company pleaded guilty to breaching Section 2(1)

and Section 3(1) of the Health and Safety at Work Act 1974,

was fined £600,000 and ordered to pay £27,408 in costs.

Patrick Pearson of Broadway, Leigh on Sea, Essex, the director

of Intervale Ltd, was the contract manager responsible for

planning the decommissioning of lift shafts on site. He pleaded

guilty to breaching Section 3 (2) of the Health and Safety at

Work Act 1974. He has been ordered to complete 120 hours

community service and pay costs of £3000.

March saw non-essential lights on famous landmarks being

switched off around the globe to mark Earth Hour, an event

that draws attention to climate change.

Around 170 countries and territories took part in the vent

which reached its 10th anniversary this year. The event is

organised by conservation group WWF.

The lights were switched off on Tower Bridge, London.

PC and self-employed contractor fined New online courses for April 2017

Electricity awareness

Vibration awareness

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Lights switched off around the world

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