Here are a selection from some of the latest results of prosecutions and fines in the UK.
FORKLIFT TRUCK
United Engineering Forgings Ltd of Bromsgrove was fined a total of £30,000 after one of its workers was struck on the head and killed by a steel fork, which had snapped off a forklift being used as a crane. The Court heard how engineer Calvin Hughes died instantly after being struck by the 37kg fork, which fell on him from a height of 7 feet. The truck was being used as a crane - a rope having been looped over 1 fork to lift a piece of metal. As this was happening the other fork caught under a piece of equipment, causing it to snap. The investigation by the HSE discovered a pre-existing metal fatigue crack in the fork. The company was also had full costs of £32,481.
A construction firm and one of its directors have been fined a total of £60,000 at Southampton Crown Court. Hungerford based construction firm Austin Brickwork Ltd and company director Julian Austin, have been fined after a forklift truck driven by a company employee knocked down and killed labourer Kevin Moyle, on a building site in Basingstoke, on August 7th 2000. The driver had not been trained or tested to operate a forklift truck. Austin Brickwork was fined £40,000 plus £8,799 in costs after pleading guilty to breaching section 2(1) of the HSW Act 1974, in that it failed to ensure the safety of employees by not restricting the use of the forklift truck to competent staff. Mr Austin was fined £20,000 after pleading guilty to section 37(1) of the HSW Act because he instructed an untrained employee to drive the truck. HSE Investigating inspector Mike Sarson said "Mr Moyle's death highlights the need for employers to use only trained and licensed forklift truck drivers. Any employer, director or manager that allows an untrained person to operate any workplace plant or machinery vastly increases the risk of an accident which could result in serious injury or death".
Seventeen year old Jonathan Stroud, an employee of Eddie Stobart Ltd, was crushed to death whilst operating a 'man up' forklift truck, which has the capability of lifting a driver up to 14m in the air. Environmental Health Officer Peter Minhinnett told Nottingham Crown Court that Mr Strout was navigating between two stacking shelves, which gave him just 140mm clearance, and there were goods overhanging his pallet. The prosecution said it is believed the accident happened when the overhanging goods collided with the goods on the forklift causing 3/4 tonne of aluminium foil to fall down onto the forklifts cab.
Mr Minhinnett said the accident had happened exactly one year after the company had been officially warned to review its risk assessments. Mr Minhinnett said "they had no risk assessment to show that they tried to prevent overhanging loads. The whole system was designed to make sure the load fitted on the footprint of the pallet." Eddie Stobart Ltd pleaded guilty to failing to safeguard the health, Safety and welfare of one of their employees and received a £70,000 fine. The company also pleaded guilty to failing to complete a six month inspection of the forklift and fined accordingly. In addition the Court ordered the company to pay over £81,000 in costs.
Weathersheal Holdings of Winsford in Cheshire were prosecuted following a fatal accident. An employee was crushed by a number of full pallets which fell from a side loader lift truck. There was failure to ensure safety by separation of pedestrians from vehicle movements. The company was fined £60,000 plus £3,200 costs.
A fork lift accident that left a worker with a broken back has cost a manufacturing firm over £10,000 in fines and costs. They were prosecuted at Doncaster Magistrates Court under section 2(1) of the Health and Safety at Work Act 1974.
A lift truck accident that left an employee with serious injuries to both his legs cost a wire manufacturing firm over £15,000 in fines and costs at Warrington Crown Court. They were prosecuted under section 2(1) of the HASAWA and regulation 3(1) of the Management of Health and Safety at work regulations 1999.
Laing Homes was fined a total of £40,000 after St Albans Crown Court heard that a 53 year old plumber suffered serious injuries when he was struck by a telescopic materials handler.
An electronic systems provider has been fined £12,000 under section 2(1) of the HASAWA, after Blackpool Magistrates Court heard that an employee suffered serious injuries when he fell from the forks of a lift truck he was standing on.
A supervisor of a firms Forklift truck was fined £300 after Tamworth Magistrates Court heard that he suffered serious leg injuries when he drove an unsafe FLT despite knowing that the brakes were faulty. He was fined under section 7 of the HASAWA for failing to take care for the health and safety of himself and others.
Macduff shipyards of Aberdeen were fined £500 when an employee was seriously injured when a forklift truck, being operated by an untrained operator, collided with a trolley containing oxy-acetylene burning gear. This in turn collided with the employee causing his serious injury.
Organic Farm Foods of Lampeter Wales were fined £1,000 plus £500 costs when a member of staff fell from a stillage raised 2m in the air. The stillage tipped off the forks of a lift truck. The injured person suffered a cracked bone in the spine. An unsafe system of work, which was a result of poor practice was being ignored. Risk Assessment at the factory failed to identify the system of work and so no the risk assessment was deemed as being insufficient.
A fine of £7,500 plus costs of £1,380 were awarded against Bruhl (UK) Ltd of Tipton, West Midlands after a fatal accident involving a pedestrian and a Forklift truck.
An accident where an employee suffered serious injuries when he was crushed between two pallets of paper, has cost Williams Lea Facilities Ltd £11,000 plus £3,250 costs. One of the pallets was being pushed by a forklift truck, Serious deficiencies were found in control of transport and management of health and safety.
Ogden Cargo Ltd based at Heathrow Airport London were fined £2,650 including costs after an inspector witnessed an employee working from a pallet located on the forks of a lift truck, the pallet was raised to a height approximately 4 to 5 metres above the ground. There was no protection to prevent employee falling from the pallet edges. Case taken because there was high potential for person falling and suffering serious injury.
An employee of AGS Ltd (London) received crushing injuries to his hand whilst driving a forklift truck. No inspection system was in place, (handbrake inspected and found to be faulty) no key control or adequate supervision. The company pleaded guilty and were fined £7,500 plus £1,058 in costs.
Apex Tubulars Ltd of Marywell Aberdeen were fined £15,000 after a lorry driver visiting their premises was struck by a falling load from a forklift truck during the loading of his vehicle. The driver was left paraplegic as a result. The company were fined for not ensuring safe systems of work and not ensuring the safety of visiting contractor employee.
A Hillier and Son Ltd of Alcester in Warwickshire were fined £3,000 plus £2,278 costs after failing to control the hazard from fumes created by an LPG forklift truck operating in an enclosed pack house. The company identified the hazard but failed to carry out assessment and implement controls to prevent or adequately control exposure to hazardous substance.
GENERAL HEALTH AND SAFETY
Construction firm Galliford Hodgson was fined £40,000 and ordered to pay over £11,000 in costs at the Old Bailey following the death of a 12 year old boy. The prosecution followed an incident which occurred in January 2000, in which schoolboy Martin Karshak died after falling almost 11 metres while playing on scaffolding. The scaffolding had been erected for principle contractor Galliford Hodgson Ltd at a refurbishment project in Hackney in London. It is thought that Martin had been playing with 3 other boys when he fell over guard rails while negotiating a change in level between adjacent parts of the scaffolding, which he climbed onto from a balcony. The company pleaded guilty to breaching Section 3(1) of the Health and Safety at Work Act 1974 in that they failed to ensure the safety of persons not in their employment including Martin Karshak and other children by preventing unauthorised access to the scaffolding.
Blackfriars Crown Court fined a scrap metal processing company £200,000 under section 2(1) of the HASAWA after an employee died when he was violently struck on the head by a metal chain while carrying out an unsafe lifting procedure.
A joinery firm was fined £35,000 by Snaresbrook Crown Court under regulation 13 of the Workplace (Health, Safety and Welfare) regulations 1992 and regulation 3(1) of the management of Health and Safety at Work Regulations 1999 after a worker was crushed by a falling stack of timber.
Welder David Martin was crushed to death when a 1 tonne steel plate fell on him whilst he worked in the yard of employers Service Welding Ltd, Newcastle Crown Court heard. The prosecution told the court that the steel plate was being moved with the aid of an overhead crane, when the crane hook slipped causing the load to fall.
Alex Burns, prosecuting for the HSE said that the accident could have been avoided if the company had heeded a previous safety warning and replaced a £5 safety catch on the crane. Mr Burns said "The hooks when supplied to the company in 1997 had safety latches on them. They had come off. They are easy to replace and cheap, and had those latches been on the chain would not have come off."
Summing up, Judge Guy Whitburn said: "had safety latches been fitted then this accident with all its tragic consequences for Mr Martin and his family would have been avoided and all for just £5". The company admitted breaching health and safety regulations and was fined £25,000.
Short Bros (Plant) Ltd of Newport, Gwent were fined £2,000 plus £2,000 costs following an investigation found that several safety devices on a Bobcat skid steer loader had been defeated. This subsequently led to an employee being seriously injured.
Klarsgester Environmental, a plastics company from Buckinghamshire was fined £250,000 at Aylesbury Crown Court following serious Health and Safety breaches which led to the death of a machine operator at their premises. The court heard that Ronald Glue had his head crushed as he was setting a Hanwood vacuum forming machine.
Passing sentence the judge said that there were multiple failings at the company, some of which must have been present for a long period, some for many years. He said the defendant was unable to demonstrate a proper system for inspection and maintenance necessary to prevent accidents. The judge added the situation in the factory was "serious and horrifying".
The company was fined £200,000 for breaches under Regulation11(1)(a) of the Provision and Use of Work Equipment Regulations and £50,000 for breaches of Section2(1) of the Health and Safety at Work Act1974.
Vehicle Mounted Loaders
An accident which saw a lorry crane overturn and kill its operator Michael Wood has led to Meynell Plant Hire of Hinckley £25,000 with £10,497 costs. An investigation discovered that the vehicles stabilisers had been lowered but not extended. Interlocks would have prevented such operations but were not fitted. The operator was experienced, but no attempt at supervision to check safe working was made.
The prosecution stated that the lorry's stabilisers had been extended and a safety device was activated preventing any further movement of the vehicle. Mr Wood shortened the jib to provide more power as the load of heavy steel girders was right on the loaders capacity, but then had to retract the stabilisers to enable the low loader to get closer and complete the manoeuvre. As a result the lorry on which Mr Wood had been working became unstable and tipped over sideways trapping him underneath.
Mr Wood was qualified to operate the crane and a well respected, admired and well liked employee, after the case his widow said she was heartened by the new safety measures the company had now implemented but if they had applied there minds to it 19 months ago Adrian would still be here.
Arcade Traffic Management were investigated when a lorry loader crane collapsed under load on a street. The investigation revealed that there had been at least one other catastrophic on street failure and a lack of thorough exams for 10 cranes from the companies site in Paddington London. The following charges were brought against them. HASAWA S2(1) lack of training and information to employees. No safe system of work HASAWA 3(1) Failure to protect the H&S of m.o.p.s. RIDDOR 3 (e)(ii) failure to report within 10 days. PUWER 5 (i) x2 Failure to maintain two cranes which failed on the street. LOLER 9 (3) x10 Failure to thoroughly examine over a 12 month period. The company was fined £21,000 plus a further £14,654 in costs.
A lorry driver was lucky to escape with his life when 11,000 volts of electricity ran through his tipper truck on a housing construction site. The driver was unhurt when the power arced from overhead power cables as he unloaded stone at Taymove ltd's site in Buckley last year. The lorry didn't actually touch the cables but the power arced and surged through the vehicle melting all the rubber parts including the tyres which instantly deflated. Taymove ltd - now known as Castlemede Developments admitted 4 charges brought by the HSE and were fined £12,000 by Flintshire magistrates.
The managing director of the company John Emlyn Parry was also fined £3000. Mr Parry's solicitor said his client had been in the construction industry for 36 years and always had a comfortable relationship with the HSE 'For the first and only time in his life, and definitely the last time, he admits that he took his eye off the ball, added the solicitor.
RISK ASSESSMENT
Brown and Mason, a demolition firm which had been contracted to demolish Blyth Power Station was fined £40,000 at Newcastle Crown Court following the death of 21 year old Jimmy Hall, one of its workers on the site. They were fined £35,000 for failing to ensure the safety of its employees and £5,000 for failing to prepare a proper risk assessment. The court heard that the company had not made a proper risk assessment before an operation which led to a 400kg junction box falling and crushing Mr Hall to death. The prosecution also said that the site supervisor was not trained adequately. Mt hall was killed in May 2001, when assistant site manager Richard Brown, the son of one of the firms directors, cut a wire supporting the junction box causing it to fall.
Claims direct client Ian Taylor, a class 2 HGV driver from Kent was injured in a fall as he climbed out of his vehicle onto a weighbridge in London that had no walkway or steps. He fell 4 ft onto a concrete base, tore tendons in his leg and spent weeks in plaster. His injuries were such that he was unable to return to work for 5 months. As a result he was awarded £7000 in compensation. Now claims direct are urging companies to review and assess the risks associated with workplace vehicles.
Warwickshire magistrates court fined Peak Trailers Ltd £7000 following a fire at its companies premises in which an employee suffered severe burns. The company pleaded guilty to failing to ensure the health and safety of its employees and to a second charge of failing to make a suitable and sufficient assessment of the risks to the safety and health of its employees. The employee had been burning wooden pallets in the yard on July 9th 2001 when he noticed black smoke coming from the bonfire. When he went to inspect the fire he noticed an empty drum of petroleum grease nearby, which he tried to move using a forklift truck. Unfortunately the drum had not been cleaned as there was a layer of residue in the bottom. As the employee approached the fire there was a flashpoint and the truck became engulfed in flames. The employee suffered 25% burns to his upper body and face, but has since made a full recovery. The company has now been served with an improvement notice to improve its health and safety management and was also fined costs totalling nearly £1500.
Mechanic Charles Fraser died when the throttle on a quad bike he was test driving jammed open causing him to crash into a fence, Aberdeen Sheriff Court was told. Mr Fraser suffered fatal head injuries, as he was not wearing a crash helmet at the time. The vehicle had been taken in for repair and was known to have multiple defects including dirty throttle valve and carburettor and poor steering and brakes. Mr Fraser had completed the repair work and taken the bike out into the yard to test it when witnesses heard a large thump and the vehicle was found tangled in a fence. He later died from a head injury.
AM Phillip, Mr Fraser's employers, admitted breaching health and safety regulations, including not conducting a risk assessment on test driving vehicles once a mechanical repair had been carried out. The companies safety officer was also found to be unaware that quad bike testing was carried out at this particular depot. The company also admitted failing to provide protective headgear.
The company was fined £12,500