A Yorkshire metals recycling company has been fined £1.2m after a worker was injured after being struck by a wagon at a processing site.

On 10 August 2020 an employee of CF Booth Limited was walking across the site yard in Rotherham when he was struck by a moving 32-tonne skip wagon. The man was not wearing his hi-vis jacket and did not see the wagon approaching. The wagon driver did not see the employee prior to the collision due to concentrating on manoeuvring the vehicle around some low-level skips which had been placed on the corner near where the employee was crossing the yard.

Following the incident, the man sustained a fractured skull and also fractured his collar bone in two places. He has since made a full recovery.

Investigating, the HSE found that at the time of the incident the site was not organised in such a way that pedestrians and vehicles could circulate safely. The investigation revealed:

• A suitable and sufficient workplace transport risk assessment was not in place for the segregation of vehicles and pedestrians.
• The company had failed to take steps to properly assess the risks posed by the movement of vehicles and pedestrians.

The incident could have been prevented by adequately assessing the risks and implementing appropriate control measures such as physical barriers and crossing points.

CF Booth Limited of Clarence Metal Works, Armer St, Rotherham, pleaded guilty to breaching Section 2 of the Health and Safety at Work etc. Act 1974. They were fined £1.2million and ordered to pay costs of £5,694.85.

After the hearing, HSE inspector Kirstie Durrans said: “If CF Booth Limited had assessed the risks and ensured vehicles and pedestrians could circulate in a safe manner, this incident could have easily been avoided.”

This HSE prosecution was brought by HSE enforcement lawyers Karen Park and Kate Harney, and supported by paralegal officer Rebecca Forman.

This is valid as of the 7th May 2024.

(United States) A federal jury has said that BNSF Railway contributed to the deaths of two people who were exposed to asbestos decades ago when tainted mining material was shipped through a Montana town where thousands have been sickened.

The jury awarded $4 million each in compensatory damages to the estates of the two plaintiffs, who died in 2020. Jurors said asbestos-contaminated vermiculite that spilled in the rail yard in the town of Libby, Montana was a substantial factor in the plaintiffs’ illnesses and deaths.

The vermiculite from Libby has high concentrations of naturally-occurring asbestos and was used in insulation and for other commercial purposes in homes and businesses across the U.S.

After being mined from a mountaintop outside town, it was loaded onto rail cars that sometimes spilled the material in the Libby rail yard. Residents have described piles of vermiculite being stored in the yard and dust from the facility blowing through downtown Libby.

The jury did not find that BNSF acted intentionally or with indifference so no punitive damages were awarded. Warren Buffett’s Berkshire Hathaway Inc. acquired BNSF in 2010, two decades after the W.R. Grace and Co. vermiculite mine near Libby shut down and stopped shipping the contaminated mineral.

The estates of the two victims argued that the railroad knew the asbestos-tainted vermiculite was dangerous and failed to clean it up. Both lived near the rail yard decades ago and died from mesothelioma, a rare lung cancer linked to asbestos exposure.

The pollution in Libby has been cleaned up, largely at public expense. W.R. Grace, which played a central role in the town’s tragedy, filed for bankruptcy in 2001 and paid $1.8 billion into an asbestos trust fund to settle future cases.

Yet the long timeframe over which asbestos-related diseases develop means people previously exposed are likely to continue getting sick for years to come, health officials say.

The case in federal civil court over the two deaths was the first of numerous lawsuits against the Texas-based railroad corporation to reach trial over its past operations in Libby. Current and former residents of the town near the U.S.-Canada border want BNSF held accountable, accusing it of playing a role in asbestos exposure that health officials say has killed several hundred people and sickened thousands.

The railroad was considering whether to appeal, said a BNSF spokesperson.

Federal prosecutors in 2005 indicted W. R. Grace and executives from the company on criminal charges over the contamination in Libby. A jury acquitted them following a 2009 trial.

The Environmental Protection Agency descended on Libby after 1999 news reports of illnesses and deaths among mine workers and their families. In 2009 the agency declared in Libby the nation’s first ever public health emergency under the federal Superfund cleanup programme.

A second trial against the railroad over the death of a Libby resident is scheduled for May in federal court in Missoula.

This is valid as of the 29th April 2024.

[Canada] Following a guilty plea in the Ontario Court of Justice in Ottawa, Eastway Tank, Pump and Meter Limited has been fined $600,000, while company director Neil Greene was fined $80,000, over the death of six workers in an explosion which occurred in January 2022.

Eastway Tank, Pump and Meter Limited was found to have failed to take every precaution reasonable in the circumstances for the protection of workers, contrary to section 25(2)(h) of the Occupational Health and Safety Act. The company also failed to provide adequate information, instruction, and supervision to workers to protect their health and safety, contrary to section 25(2)(a) of the Act. Neil Greene failed to take all reasonable care to ensure that the corporation complied with section 25(2)(h) of the Act, contrary to section 32 of the Act. The Court also imposed a 25% victim fine surcharge as required by the Provincial Offences Act.

The Court heard how, on 13 January 2022, workers inside the company’s fabrication shop performed a wet test on a newly built tank truck to check for leakage. This entailed running diesel test fuel through different compartments of the tank and other truck components.

This was a routine operation at the workplace. Workers knew never to use gasoline and the company had a standard operating procedure that prohibited gasoline, or any tanker truck containing gasoline, from entering the fabrication shop. The diesel test fuel was stored in a tank outdoors.

The day before, another worker had used the diesel test fuel to wet test a different newly built tank truck outdoors. They left the diesel test fuel in the truck to calibrate the diesel meter. At some point, more fuel was added to the truck.

On 13 January, a worker pumped the diesel test fuel from the truck outside into the truck in the fabrication shop. That afternoon, flammable liquid vapours in the vicinity of the truck in the shop ignited, causing one explosion followed by a second larger explosion. Seven workers were injured, six fatally and one critically, as a result.

Following the explosions and fire, several fuel storage tanks at the workplace were tested for contamination. Gasoline was identified as a contaminant in several tanks of diesel, and diesel was identified as a contaminant in a tank of gasoline.

An Ontario Fire Marshall investigation found that the gasoline involved in the explosion was the result of contaminated diesel test fuel being used in the wet test. The diesel test fuel from the outdoor storage tank was contaminated with gasoline, and it was increasingly contaminated by gasoline when it was transferred to the outdoor tank truck. These two sources of gasoline cross-contaminated sufficiently to cause the explosions.

The company and its director failed to take every precaution reasonable in the circumstances to protect the health and safety of workers by failing to ensure that diesel fuel to be used for the wet testing of trucks was not contaminated with gasoline or any other flammable liquid or substance.

The company also failed to provide adequate information, instruction, and supervision to workers on safe fuel storage and handling procedures to protect the workers from the hazard of diesel fuel, used for the wet testing of trucks, from becoming contaminated with gasoline.

This is valid as of the 25th April 2024.

A man sustained numerous injuries after falling through a hole which should have been covered up, a court was told.

Devonport Royal Dockyard and Kaefer Limited were fined after scaffolder Arran Seymour was injured while working on HMS Bulwark in Plymouth. He fell 15ft through the hole in April 2023.

District Judge Jo Matson said the injuries had a “significant impact on his life”.

The court was told Mr Seymour was dismantling scaffolding inside a ballast tank as part of maintenance work for the ship on 11 April. As he climbed down a ladder, he stepped back and fell 15ft through an exposed lightening hole onto the lower tank floor. A lightening hole enables water to flow in and our of the ballast tank voids when the ship is at sea.

Mr Seymour sustained multiple fractures to his pelvis, a splintered wrist, a dislocated elbow and broken bones in his arm, hands and fingers. He spent two months in hospital and two weeks in a rehabilitation centre before returning home.

Devonport Royal Dockyard Limited (DRDL) and Kaefer Limited admitted health and safety breaches in relation to the incident, following a prosecution by the Office for Nuclear Regulation (ONR).

District Judge Jo Matson said: “It is such the case, as in these types of cases, where had measures been put in place in the first place, Mr Seymour would not have been put in the sad situation that he has been.”

She added that both defendants should be “commended for their openness”.

DRDL pleaded guilty to failing to ensure that people not in its employment were not exposed to risks to their health and safety, as well as failing to ensure that its employees were not exposed to similar risks. The company was ordered to pay fines and costs totalling to £757,589.90.

Kaefer Limited, who Mr Seymour worked for, admitted failing to ensure the health and safety of its employees in relation to the risks arising while working at height. The judge ruled that the company should pay a total of £154,249.90 in fines and costs.

The court also heard of a previous incident on the same site in January 2021 when a Kaefer contractor fell in the same hole. He managed to avoid falling completely through, avoiding serious injury.

Dan Hasted from the ONR said it welcomed the outcome which recognised DRDL and Kaefer Limited “failed in their duty to protect workers”.

“This incident was entirely avoidable and was the result of a series of significant failings on the part of both organisations involved in this work,” he said, adding: “Nobody should go to work and not come home in a fit and healthy state.”

Kaefer Limited said it was “deeply saddened” one of their colleagues received these injuries whist at work, and it had since “supported his wellbeing and rehabilitation”.

The company said: “The health and safety of our employees remains our top priority, we have a strong safety culture, and are dedicated to achieving the highest standards in all our operations.

“Having completed our investigations into the event and determined the root causes, our teams are implementing identified improvements to procedures and sharing the lessons learnt.”

This is valid as of the 9th April 2024.

A landlord has been jailed after she “put the lives and safety of residents and employees at risk” by failing to comply with fire safety regulations.

Angela Chang admitted six breaches of the Regulatory Reform (Fire Safety) Order (the Order) after pictures showed properties filled with rubbish and old mattresses which would have prevented her tenants from leaving the building safely.

Flats at the Great Fortune House, at Victoria Road West, and St Georges Lane in Thornton-Cleveleys in Lancashire were issued with the prohibition notice after being inspected by safety officers from the fire service.

The flats were occupied at the time by several employees of the Great Fortune House, a family of three and a builder undertaking work on the premises.

Alongside the mattresses and rubbish Lancashire Fire and Rescue (LFRS) Officers found the flats were also not equipped with appropriate fire detectors and alarms.

LFRS said the breaches posed a “serious threat to the life and safety of the tenants” and anyone else who may visit the property.

Chang was prosecuted for her failure to comply with the Order and the prohibition notice. She pleaded guilty to all six charges.

Chang was sentenced to three months in prison and ordered to pay £10,414 in costs to LFRS.

Ian Armistead, Protection Department Group Manager for LFRS, said: “Ms Angela Chang is the responsible person for these premises, and as such has a legal duty to ensure that people who use her premises are provided with a safe environment.

“We hope that this prosecution will ensure that the standard of her properties is kept within the requirements of the law.

“In our constant drive to make Lancashire safer, our fire safety enforcement teams are always actively seeking out other dangerous premises.

“We would hope that the outcome of this particular case where a custodial sentence has been issued, sends a clear message that fire safety must always be a priority.

“In this instance the consequences of the inadequate fire safety measures and inadequate management could have led to serious injury or loss of life and circumstances left us with no other option but to take this action.

“Lancashire Fire and Rescue Service will always work with those willing to address fire safety issues and businesses can be assured that we will continue to support them in complying with the Fire Safety Order.

“We would urge landlords and responsible persons who need to take action to comply with fire safety regulations to visit the Business Safety section of our website, which contains advice and guidance on how to comply with your legal duties.”

This is valid as of the 9th April 2024.

A company director has been jailed for eight months after failing to protect workers from exposure to asbestos at a student development project in Winchester.

Stephen Davies, 59, had set up Cavendish Winchester Ltd with the sole purpose of refurbishing the Winnall Close commercial unit into student rental accommodation. His co-director Neil Bolton, 56, was spared an immediate spell behind bars when he was handed a four-month suspended sentence. The company itself was fined £30,000 – with all three defendants pleading guilty.

The HSE’s investigation found that the company removed an estimated ten tonnes of asbestos insulating board (AIB) during the refurbishment in late 2019 and early 2020. The dangerous materials were stripped out by workers unqualified to do the job and unaware of the risks to their health.

The investigation arose when the HSE received a concern that large quantities of AIB had been illegally removed. The work was all carried out under the direction of Stephen Davies.

The court was told both directors were aware of the considerable extent and quantity of the materials containing asbestos within the building, as they had previously sought legitimate quotes for its competent removal.

However, they chose to save a considerable sum of money by avoiding properly planned, safe removal, by a Licenced Asbestos Removal Contractor. They knowingly exposed workers to significant risk to their health. In addition, the investigation was unable to determine where a very sizeable quantity of asbestos-contaminated debris ended up, such that others in the waste removal chain were likely to have been put at risk too.

All three defendants pleaded guilty to charges relating to a lack of adequate management of the removal of asbestos containing materials.

Both Stephen Davies and Neil Bolton pleaded guilty to Section 37 of the Health and Safety at Work etc. Act 1974, by causing their company, The Cavendish Winchester Ltd, to breach Section 4(1) of the Act.

Davies, of Petworth, West Sussex was given an immediate custodial sentence of 8 months in prison.

Bolton, of Petworth, West Sussex was given a custodial sentence of four months, suspended for 12 month, with 250 hours of unpaid work and ordered to pay costs of over £5,123.

The Cavendish Winchester Ltd, of Newtown House, Liphook, was fined £30,000.00.

Speaking after the hearing, HSE principal inspector Steve Hull said: “We brought this case because, despite the directors of this company being put on notice of the risks involved, they put profit before the health of those they employed.

“The dangers to health associated with exposure to asbestos fibres are well known and a wealth of advice and guidance is freely available from HSE and other organisations.

“Structural refurbishment which either exposes or is liable to expose people to asbestos fibres should only be carried out by competent persons working to a strict plan of work to ensure safety. Higher risk asbestos removal, such as the removal of AIB, can only legally be carried out by Licenced Asbestos Removal Contractors who have the knowledge and equipment to prevent the spread of fibres and properly protect the workers undertaking the removal work.

“This work involved the removal of an estimated ten tonnes of AIB. The defendants then tried to cover their tracks by legitimising the removal of a small amount of residual asbestos containing materials, after illegally stripping out the majority, by obtaining a new quote for legal removal of that very small remaining portion. This deliberate attempt to save money, when they knew full well that the workers would have to live with the possibility of developing serious asbestos-related disease in the future, makes the case particularly serious.”

This case was brought by HSE enforcement lawyer Kate Harney, who was supported by Paralegal Officer Helen Jacob.

This is valid as of 2nd April 2024.

A construction company in Kent has been fined after a sub-contractor fell and died from his injuries.

Mark Tolley, 51, fell nearly two metres through an opening in a scaffold on 5 July 2017 while working on the construction of six houses on Smarden Road in Headcorn, Kent.

He sustained several broken ribs and serious internal injuries including a punctured lung. He later died on 13 July 2017.

Mr Tolley had been installing vertical hanging tiles on one of the new properties when he fell 1.8 metres through an unguarded opening in the scaffold and landed on the ground below.

The HSE’s investigation found Amberley Homes (Kent) Ltd, the principal contractor for the project, had not appointed a person with the necessary skills, knowledge, experience and training to manage the construction site. The company had not ensured that a safe working platform on the scaffold was maintained throughout the different phases of the project. Access to and from the first lift working platform was unsafe as multiple openings had been made which could subsist for several weeks. The openings were unguarded and therefore there was a significant risk of falling circa 1.8 metres from the working platform.

Amberley Homes (Kent) Ltd did not control the site effectively, the HSE has said. Its monitoring was ineffective as it did not act on concerns raised by its safety consultant when he drew the problems with site management.

Amberley Homes (Kent) Ltd, of London Road, Sevenoaks, Kent, entered a guilty plea to breaching Regulation 13(1) of the Construction (Design and Management) Regulations 2015 during a trial at Maidstone Nightingale Court in January 2024. The company was fined £25,000 and ordered to pay £83,842.34 in costs.

HSE principal inspector Ross Carter said: “This tragic death could have been so easily avoided by implementing suitable site management to ensure that the scaffold was appropriately adapted by competent persons for the needs of the different sub-contractors.

“This case highlights that principal contractors should be aware that HSE will not hesitate to take appropriate enforcement action against those who fall below the required standards and do not plan, manage and monitor the construction phase effectively.”

This is valid as of 25th March 2024.

One of the nation’s largest producers of supermarket pizzas has been fined £800,000 after two workers suffered serious injuries at its factory in Bolton.

Stateside Foods Limited produces millions of pizzas each year, supplied to major UK supermarkets. The company was fined after the employees were caught up in machinery at the Westhoughton site in two separate incidents during 2020.

Bolton Crown Court heard how one man had his arm drawn into an inadequately guarded conveyor belt at the Lancaster Way factory, on 8 January 2020. The injury to his arm resulted in the removal of muscle and required a skin graft. He has not returned to work since the injury and has been diagnosed with hypersensitivity in the affected arm.

Following on from this, on a night shift just nine months later, father of two Andrew Holloway had part of his middle figure severed after his hand was drawn between a roller and a conveyor belt on 14 October 2020. The acting team leader had been told of an issue on the production line and gone to investigate when the horrific incident happened.

Although Mr Holloway returned to work after a six-month absence he left after just a couple of days – which resulted in him starting his career again.

The HSE’s investigation found the company:

• Did not adequately guard their machinery.
• Did not provide suitable and sufficient checks to ensure that their protective measures were working effectively.
• Allowed the disabling of guarding systems and access to dangerous parts of machinery.

Stateside Foods Limited of Lancaster Way, Westhoughton, Bolton, pleaded guilty to breaching Section 2 (1) and 3 (1) of the Health and Safety at Work etc Act. The company was fined £800,000 and was ordered to pay £5,340 costs.

The prosecution was brought by HSE enforcement lawyers Sam Crockett and supported by senior paralegal officer Stephen Parkinson.

After the hearing, HSE inspector Leanne Ratcliffe said: “This is one of the country’s major food companies. The injuries sustained by both of these workers has been truly life changing.

“This case should send a message to industry about how important it is understand the risks of bypassing guarding arrangements, and to re-evaluate their own guarding arrangements and procedures to eliminate any access to dangerous parts of machinery.

“We will always be prepared to take action when companies fall short of their duties and responsibilities to protect their staff.”

HSE Enforcement Lawyer Kate Harney presented the case at Bolton Crown Court.

This is valid as of 25th March 2024.

A care home operator has been fined £400,000 for safety breaches, following the death of a vulnerable resident at a care home in Scotland.

On the night of 16 December 2021, Susan Greens, a resident at Springfield Bank Care Home, could not be found on the premises. Following a search around the site in Bonnyrigg near Edinburgh, care assistants found the 95-year-old in her nightwear lying in an external courtyard. Mrs Greens had fallen and struck her head in the courtyard where she had been in the cold for some time.

She was admitted to Edinburgh Royal Infirmary and sadly died in hospital two days later.

Investigating, the HSE found Mrs Greens died because she was able to access the courtyard while unsupervised and had fallen, spending up to an hour and a half outside before staff came to her aid.

Springfield Bank Care Home is run by HC-One Ltd and is a purpose-built care home offering nursing and nursing dementia care.

At Edinburgh Sheriff Court, care home provider HC-One Limited of Archer Street, Darlington pleaded guilty to breaching Regulations Section 3(1) and Section 33(1)(a) of the Health and Safety at Work etc. Act 1974 and were fined £400,000.

Speaking after the case, HSE inspector Kerry Cringan said: “This error cost a vulnerable old lady her life – families think that their loved ones will be safe in care.

“This was tragic and wholly avoidable. Had the doors been kept locked at night or had there been a system where staff would be told if the doors to the courtyard had been opened, the accident could have been avoided.”

This is valid as of 11th March 2024.

A New Zealand court has ordered NZ$10 million ($6 million) in compensation to the victims of the White Island volcano disaster, where 22 people died..

In December 2019, 47 people were touring the volcano when it erupted, killing nearly half of the group, and gravely injuring everyone else.

The firms which owned the island and operated tours were found guilty last year of negligence and safety breaches.

Their failure to provide proper checks had ruined many lives, the court said.

The volcano had been showing signs of heightened activity in the weeks leading up to the eruption, but operators ignored these, the court said.

The Auckland District Court ordered the company which owned the island, Whakaari Management Limited, to pay NZ$4.57 million in damages to victims.

Whakaari Management, named after the Maori name for the island, licenced tour groups to visit the volcano.

The court also ordered White Island Tours, the company which had brought the tourists to the island for a walking tour, to pay NZ$4.68 million in reparations.

Three other tour companies, Volcanic Air Safaris, Aerius Limited, and Kahu NZ Limited, were also ordered to pay damages.

Judge Evangelos Thomas said in his judgement that the compensation was “no more than a token recognition” of the victims’ suffering.

Payments will be divided among the victims, with greater amounts to the families of the 22 people who were killed.

The owners of the island, Whakaari Management, were also fined NZ$978,000 for breaching workplace safety laws.

The firm’s owners previously faced individual criminal prosecutions over the deaths, but the charges were dropped last year.

The disaster prompted the most extensive and complex investigation ever undertaken by WorkSafe NZ, which was also criticised for failing to monitor activities on the island between 2014 and 2019.

Tourism activities on White Island have not resumed since the eruption.

This is valid as of 11th March 2024.

A man has been prosecuted at Oxford Magistrates’ Court for submitting a fraudulent document to the Security Industry Authority (SIA).

Karvan Nawaz was prosecuted for fraud by false representation under section 2 of the Fraud Act 2006 and sentenced to a 12-month community order and ordered to carry out 100 hours of unpaid work. He was also ordered to pay a total of £314 including £114 representing a community order surcharge and £200 in court costs.

He had earlier entered a guilty plea at his first appearance in the court on 26 January 2024 and the case had been adjourned for a pre-sentence report to be compiled.

The case was brought forward by the SIA after Nawaz submitted a fraudulent document to the SIA for his licence application. As part of the application process, he was required to provide supporting documentation including references.

On 25 March 2022 he submitted a character reference letter purporting to be from a local postmaster who knew him personally. The SIA checked the validity of the reference letter and found it to be a fraudulent document. Nawaz was contacted by the SIA, but he failed to engage with the investigation or be interviewed by SIA investigators.

Nicola Bolton, one of the SIA’s criminal investigations managers said: “The primary purpose of the SIA licensing regime is to protect the public. A person must be fit and proper in order to hold an SIA licence. This is because the people who hold SIA licences are in positions of responsibility. They are entrusted to protect people, property, and premises. A commitment to certain standards of behaviour is fundamental to what it means to be fit and proper, and to being part of a profession.

“By submitting a fraudulent document to the SIA, Karvan Nawaz proved he is not fit to hold a licence to carry out the important task of public safety. Submitting a fraudulent document is a serious offence and Nawaz’s sentence is a reminder that actions that can undermine public trust and cause a threat to public safety will be exposed and met with appropriate repercussions and penalties.”

This is valid as of 06th March 2024.

Two men who owned a trampoline park where 11 people broke their backs and hundreds more were injured have been fined and ordered to do community service.

David Shuttleworth, 34, and Matthew Melling, 33, were both directors of Flip Out Chester, which was only open for two months, between December 2016 and February 2017.

During their sentencing last week, Chester Crown Court heard how an investigation was opened after staff at a local A&E became concerned with the number of people being taken there after visiting the trampoline park.

Some suffered severe spinal injuries during those two months, the court heard, with some resulting in life-long health problems. A total of 123 visitors suffered “knee to face” injuries causing dental and facial injuries, while others broke ribs and sprained their wrists.

All injuries, many of which involved children, came while using the park’s “tower jump” – where visitors dropped 17ft 3in into a foam pit.

The court heard how on 6 January 2017, a staff member broke her back, bursting her vertebrae, jumping from the tower. The next day there were 11 accidents, then six on 13 January and another six on 18 January.

Shuttleworth and Melling both pleaded guilty at an earlier hearing to a single count of negligence under health and safety law.

Last week, Shuttleworth was fined £6,500 and Melling £6,300, with each ordered to complete 250 hours of unpaid community service.

Additionally, Shuttleworth was ordered to pay £50,000 costs and Melling £10,000 costs, to go towards the £250,000 prosecution costs and council investigation.

Judge Michael Leeming acknowledged the punishment was “less than many people hoped for and many people think you deserve,” adding it was because the two defendants were negligent rather than committing deliberate acts or cost-cutting at the expense of safety – adding he was constrained by the sentencing guidelines and the law.

“There’s no evidence the company took any steps at all, including reasonably practical ones to reduce or eliminate those risks,” he said during the sentencing, adding: “Common sense says investigating why an accident has happened reduces the risk of further accidents.”

Judge Leeming said Shuttleworth had the “unfortunate” attitude which suggested minor injuries “go with the territory” at a trampoline park.

The defendants’ company, Shuttleworth and Melling Ltd, went into liquidation in 2021. A number of personal injury claims are being pursued or have already been settled.

This is valid as of 06th March 2024.