October 15th, 2009
A pet food manufacturing company has been fined £10,000 after one of its employees was crushed to death in a piece of machinery.
John O’Connor, 38, had been working at the Butcher’s Pet Care factory in Northamptonshire and entered a palletising machine to clear a blockage.
However, when he moved the can of pet food that had become jammed, the fully-automated machine restarted.
Mr O’Conor was pulled into its workings and was crushed to death.
An investigation by the Health and Safety Executive (HSE) found that staff should not have been able to access the moving parts of machines, which should all have had guards in place.
Butcher’s operations director Philip Thompson was fined for breaching work equipment regulations and was ordered to pay a fine and compensation.
HSE inspector Neil Craig said: "This was far from being an isolated incident. The unfenced gap between the stair rails had been there for nearly two years."
According to HSE statistics, there were 35 fatal injuries to workers in manufacturing between 2007 and 2008.
Tags: Butcher, Conor, Fatal Injuries, Food Manufacturing, Gap, Health And Safety, Health And Safety Executive, Hse, Manufacturing Company, Moving Parts, Neil Craig, Northamptonshire, O Connor, Operations Director, Pet Care, Pet Food, Philip Thompson, Stair Rails, Statistics
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October 2nd, 2009
A company has been fined by the Health and Safety Executive (HSE) after a cleaner was killed by a piece of machinery in a factory.
Lynda Trebilcock had been cleaning a blending machine at Delico, a food processing plant in Milton Keynes, when its powered door suddenly moved, pushing her into the components.
She suffered fatal head injuries and died at the scene.
Delico was penalised for breaching the Health and Safety at Work Act and was fined £160,000.
HSE inspector Karl Howes remarked: "Employers must ensure that they implement safe systems of work for staff using machinery. They must make certain that safety features on machines, such as guards, are not overridden."
According to additional figures published on the HSE website, moving machinery causes 30 per cent of fatal injuries in food manufacturing, a higher proportion than any other sector.
Anyone who suffers as a result of the death of a family member at work may be eligible to claim compensation and should seek the advice of a solicitor.
Tags: Blending Machine, Delico, Family Member, Fatal Injuries, Food Processing Plant, Head Injuries, Health And Safety, Health And Safety At Work, Health And Safety At Work Act, Health And Safety Executive, Howes, Hse Website, Milton Keynes, Moving Machinery, Proportion, Safe Systems Of Work, Safety At Work, Safety Features, Solicitor
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September 16th, 2009
The Health and Safety Executive (HSE) has warned employers that they must provide safe working environments after a man was killed in a forklift truck accident.
Shaun Porter, 31, was working at Trackline (International) in Northampton in 2007 and was attempting to move a load of material from one side of the factory to another.
There was a vehicle frame in the gangway and although Mr Porter lifted the load to avoid it, he clipped the frame with his vehicle and it overturned.
The victim was crushed and died instantly.
An investigation by the HSE discovered that there was no official gangway in the factory and no marked access routes for employees to use.
HSE inspector Jo Anderson said: "Companies must understand the importance of managing transport in the workplace in order to prevent a tragedy like this happening again in the future."
Additional statistics from the organisation show that there were 35 fatal injuries to manufacturing workers in 2007-08, as well as 5,097 reported major injuries.
Tags: Fatal Injuries, Forklift Truck, Gangway, Health And Safety, Health And Safety Executive, Hse, Man Health, Mr Porter, Northampton, Statistics, Tragedy, Truck Accident, Vehicle Frame, Working Environments
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August 28th, 2009
The Health and Safety Executive (HSE) has urged the construction industry to take more precautions to avoid falls from height in the workplace.
This comes after an accident in which a 31-year-old man died when he fell from scaffolding in Hastings earlier in August.
Melvyn Stancliffe, HSE inspector for the case, commented that workers must be properly trained and provided with equipment to ensure they are not at risk if working at height is unavoidable.
"It is simple – work to the recognised industry standards and working practices and falls can be prevented," he added.
Additional figures from the HSE reveal that falls are the biggest cause of fatal injury in British workplaces, with 34 out of the 72 deaths in the construction industry in 2007-08 resulting from a fall from height.
In addition, there were another 4,000 major but non-fatal injuries – such as broken bones – in the construction sector during the same timespan.
Tags: Broken Bones, Construction Industry, Construction Sector, Deaths, Fatal Injuries, Hastings, Health And Safety, Health And Safety Executive, Hse Issues, Old Man, Risk, Scaffolding, Timespan, Working At Height, Working Practices, Workplaces
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July 29th, 2009
The widow of a man who was killed in a cycling accident has been awarded £580,000 in compensation for her loss.
David Kersale, 44, had been cycling to work at Sharples School in Bolton in 2004 – where he was head of science – when he was hit from behind by a car.
The driver of the vehicle was diabetic and had gone into hypoglycaemic shock, losing control and ploughing into the cyclist.
Mr Kersale suffered fatal injuries and died at the scene.
His widow Jacqueline took legal action against the unnamed driver of the car and his insurers have now agreed to the compensation payout.
"It means that my little girl will be financially secure for the future. The money will never bring David back, but at least I feel like we have some kind of future at last," she commented.
According to the Royal Society for the Prevention of Accidents, over 16,000 cyclists are killed or injured on Britain’s roads every year, with three-quarters of accidents taking place at road junctions.
Tags: Bolton, Car Driver, Crash, Cycling, Cyclists, Fatal Injuries, Jacqueline, Little Girl, Losing Control, Money, Ploughing, Prevention, Road Junctions, Royal Society For The Prevention Of Accidents, Science, Shock, Three Quarters
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