November 7th, 2008
An incident in which a man was crushed and suffered serious injuries in an accident at work has resulted in a prosecution by the Health and Safety Executive (HSE).
The unnamed 17-year-old man was working for Peter David Marquis at a waste transfer station in 2007 when an excavator moved back, pushing him into a skip.
He broke his femur and pelvis and suffered serious internal injuries.
Mr Marquis was fined £15,000 and ordered to pay £4,631.60 in costs for breaches of health and safety acts.
HSE inspector Stephen Garsed said the accident happened because the risks of working near machinery had not been assessed.
"It is now so easy to find that there can be no excuse for not knowing the standards to meet or for not making sure that risk assessments and operating procedures follow best practice," he commented.
All employers are obliged by law to ensure the safety of their employees under a duty of care.
They must provide a safe workplace, safe systems of work, safe equipment and safe fellow employees.
If any safety regulations are breached and an injury occurs as a result of this negligence, the victim may be eligible for compensation. The HSE will prosecute where appropriate employers that break the law.
Tags: Acts, Breaches, Duty Of Care, Excavator, Excuse, Fellow Employees, Femur, Health And Safety, Health And Safety Executive, Internal Injuries, Marquis, Negligence, Old Man, Pelvis, Peter David, Prosecution, Risk Assessments, Safe Systems Of Work, Safety Regulations
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October 31st, 2008
The Health and Safety Executive (HSE) has told operators of vehicles and machinery that they must adhere to safety regulations after a pedestrian was killed in an accident.
Colin Clifford, 50, was driving an excavator outside a house in London in 2007, when he raised the buckets over the pavement.
Joseph Johnston, 81, was walking past when Mr Clifford pulled the wrong lever and the buckets fell onto the footpath, striking Mr Johnston.
He subsequently died from his injuries and Mr Clifford has been prosecuted under health and safety at work regulations.
The HSE ruled that Mr Clifford should not have lifted the bucket on the vehicle and that he should have ordered colleagues to close off the footpath.
HSE investigating inspector Lisa Chappell said: "This case shows the worst case of what can go wrong when operators cut corners."
Pedestrians are one of the most at risk groups from being seriously injured if they are involved in a collision with any vehicle, which is why they must be given right of way.
A compensation claim can be made for injuries if it can be proven that the driver of the vehicle was responsible for the collision.
Tags: Buckets, Colin Clifford, Compensation Claim, Excavator, Footpath, Health And Safety, Health And Safety At Work, Health And Safety Executive, Hse, Joseph Johnston, Lisa Chappell, Machine Operators, Mr Johnston, Pavement, Pedestrian, Pedestrians, Risk Groups, Safety At Work, Safety Regulations, Worst Case
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