May 13th, 2009
A teenager is to be paid compensation after an accident at work in which he was trapped in machinery.
Luke Oxton, then 19, was working at the Icelandic Group’s Coldwater factory in Grimsby, but got trapped in a piece of equipment because there was no guard on its vent, the Grimsby Telegraph reports.
He was trapped for over an hour and had to be freed by firefighters, suffering serious injuries to his arm.
Icelandic Group was fined and prosecuted under the Health and Safety at Work Act and ordered to pay compensation to Mr Oxton.
"We have learned lessons from this incident and implemented a major training programme for all employees and management to recognised national standards," a spokesperson from the company commented.
According to the Health and Safety Executive, there were 2,894 major injuries to employees in the Yorkshire and Humber region in 2007-08, as well as 16 fatal injuries.
Tags: Fatal Injuries, Firefighters, Grimsby Telegraph, Health And Safety, Health And Safety At Work, Health And Safety At Work Act, Health And Safety Executive, Safety At Work, Spokesperson, Teenager, Telegraph Reports, Training Programme, Vent, Yorkshire
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March 2nd, 2009
The Health and Safety Executive (HSE) is set to prosecute a Middlesex-based contractor following the death of a construction worker in 2004.
PC Harrington Contractors is set to be charged with breaching the Health and Safety at Work Act, as well as the lifting operations and lifting equipment regulations following the death of a construction worker at the Wembley Stadium site in 2004.
Another worker was also injured in the incident, which occurred when a platform that had become dislodged during a lifting operation fell from a height of 30 metres.
The City of London Magistrates Court is set to hear the case on March 10th.
PC Harrington’s current and past projects include St George’s Wharf, the Ministry of Defence, West India Quay, Romford Hospital, the London Royal Hospital, Paddington Central, the Barclays Bank headquarters at Canary Wharf and the Vodafone world headquarters in Berkshire. The firm was founded in 1973.
Tags: Bank Headquarters, Barclays Bank, Canary Wharf, City Of London, Construction Worker, Health And Safety, Health And Safety At Work, Health And Safety At Work Act, Health And Safety Executive, Hse, Lifting Operations And Lifting Equipment Regulations, London Magistrates Court, London Royal Hospital, Ministry Of Defence, Paddington, Romford, Safety At Work, Wembley Stadium, West India Quay, World Headquarters
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February 27th, 2009
The Health and Safety Executive (HSE) has issued a warning to care providers that they must ensure the safety of their patients.
Its warning comes after a man staying at the Northern General Hospital in Sheffield tried to open a window in May 2004.
Although the window was not supposed to open more than ten centimetres, it had not been properly maintained and swung open fully.
The 18-year-old fell 12 metres to the floor below, suffering a serious internal injury and several fractures.
Sheffield Teaching Hospitals NHS Foundation Trust was fined for breaches of the Health and Safety at Work Act 1974.
HSE inspector Kirsty Welsh said hospitals need to ensure that vulnerable people are not put at risk.
"The risk of falls from windows is well-known in the care sector. Hospitals have a responsibility to ensure they have preventative measures put in place," she added.
Anyone who is injured within a hospital or care home may be able to claim personal injury compensation and should seek the advice of a solicitor within three years of the incident.
Tags: 18 Year Old, Breaches, Care Sector, Foundation Trust, Fractures, Health And Safety, Health And Safety At Work, Health And Safety At Work Act, Health And Safety At Work Act 1974, Health And Safety Executive, Kirsty, Northern General Hospital, Personal Injury Compensation, Preventative Measures, Risk, Safety At Work, Sheffield, Solicitor, Teaching Hospitals, Welsh
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November 14th, 2008
The Health and Safety Executive (HSE) has issued a warning to all operators of cable cars and similar vehicles after five members of the public suffered serious injuries.
A cable car on the Nevis Range Gondola – situated near Fort William and the only one of its kind in Britain – came off the suspension rope and fell 30 feet to the ground after colliding with another car in July 2006.
Five people were injured quite seriously in the incident.
Nevis Range Development Co and one of its employees was fined for breaching the Health and Safety at Work Act 1974.
HSE inspector Douglas Conner said: "This was a serious incident which could easily have had fatal consequences. It is vital that aerial uplift operators have robust operating systems in place and that these are regularly reviewed."
Anyone injured in such an incident may be able to claim compensation if it can be proven that it was the fault of the operators.
Tags: Cable Car, Cable Cars, Development Co, Fatal Consequences, Health And Safety, Health And Safety At Work, Health And Safety At Work Act, Health And Safety At Work Act 1974, Health And Safety Executive, Hse, Members, Nevis Range, Operating Systems, People, Public Health, Rope, Safety At Work, Uplift
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November 11th, 2008
Two companies have been prosecuted by the Health and Safety Executive after an employee was killed in an accident.
The unnamed worker had been walking along a steel structure with platforms and walkways at various heights where boilers were being installed in July 2005.
However, floor gratings that were moved during the installations had not been replaced and the man fell 23 metres to his death.
Lentjes UK, the principal contractor and Rafako S.A., the sub-contractor, were prosecuted for breaches of the Health and Safety at Work Act 1974 and the Work at Height Regulations 2005 respectively.
HSE inspector Peter Collingwood said that had the gratings been replaced or had the fitters not been permitted to remove them, the worker’s death would not have occurred.
"Another life has been lost because of the inability to plan and implement simple and basic precautions and employers need to understand that this is simply not acceptable," he remarked.
Under the Work at Height Regulations 2005, every employer should make sure that work is not carried out at height when it can be successfully carried out at ground level.
Where work at height is carried out, employers are legally obliged to take adequate steps to prevent falls.
Tags: Adequate Steps, Boilers, Breaches, Floor Gratings, Health And Safety, Health And Safety At Work, Health And Safety At Work Act, Health And Safety At Work Act 1974, Health And Safety Executive, Lost, Peter Collingwood, Platforms, Principal Contractor, Prosecution, Rafako, Safety At Work, Steel Structure, Walkways
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