Health and Safety Update March 2011

COMPANY FINED OVER £250,000 FOLLOWING DEATH OF A LABOURER

The death of a labourer at a Hydro Electric Plant, in the Scottish Highlands has landed German Construction giant Hochtief with a fine of £266,000.00.

Agency worked Ondrej Hladik died while driving a telehandler at the Glendoe Hydro Scheme near Fort Augustus in September 2008. Investigators believed that Hladik was leaning through a missing window on the telehandler to adjust a mirror when his right knee inadvertently touched a leaver which operated the vehicle’s lifting boom. The boom lowered under hydraulic power, crushing him.

The HSE inspector called the telehandler, “the most poorly maintained construction vehicle of its type”. He commented that any driver would have had his hands full, just trying to drive and operate the vehicle, especially on the mountainous tracks and steep gradients at the Glendoe site.

Hochtief, admitted failing to ensure the workers safety contrary to Section 3(1) of the Health and Safety at Work Act. The fine was reduced at Inverness Sheriff Court from £400,000.00 to £266,000.00 because of the firm’s early guilt plea.

HSE PROSECUTIONS AT RECORD LOW BUT FINES HAVE RISEN

Offences prosecuted by the HSE fell to the lowest level on record in the 12 months to April 2010 but the average fine per convicted offence was the second highest, according to analysis of enforcement patterns carried out by Health and Safety bulletin.

The Executive laid 1,026 charges in 2009-10, down from 1,099 in the previous 12 months, at around half the annual average number in the late 1980’s and early 1990’s.

The HSE achieved convictions in 80% of these cases.

Despite the downturn in the number of charges, the average fine has risen consistently over the period. The average fine per offence, excluding those over £100,000.00 was £9,912.00 in 2009-10 from £7,914.00 in 2008-09.

The Health and Safety Bulletin, notes that extraordinary fines of more than £100,000.00 have increased in recent years and that the annual total of penalties between £100,000.00 and £199,999.00 has more than doubled between 2006-07 and 2009-10 from 11 to 23. However, fines measured in millions of pounds remain rare, only 12 having been imposed to date and all but 2 of those were before March 2007.

COTSWOLD GEOTECHNICAL HOLDINGS CONVICTED FOR FIRST CORPORATE MANSLAUGHTER CHARGE UNDER NEW LEGISLATION

In February, Cotswold Geotechnical Holdings became the first company to be convicted of the new offence of Corporate Manslaughter.

Proceedings arose out of the death of Alex Wright who was a Geologist for Cotswold Geotechnical Holdings and was investigating soil conditions in a deep trench on a development plot in Stroud, when it collapsed and killed him.

Mr Wright had been left working alone in a 3.5 metre deep trench, to finish up, when the Company Director left for the day. The two owners of the development plot, stayed at the site as they knew Mr Wright was working alone in the trench. About 15 minutes later they heard a muffled noise, then a shout for help. One of the plot owners called the emergency services, while the other ran to the trench, where he saw that a serge of soil had fallen in and buried Mr Wright up to his head, he climbed into the trench and removed some of the soil to enable Mr Wright to breath. At that point, more earth fell so quickly into the pit and covered Mr Wright completely and despite the owner’s best efforts, he died of traumatic asphyxiation.

The prosecutions case was that Mr Wright was working in a dangerous trench because the company’s systems had failed to take all reasonable practicable steps to protect him from working in that way. In convicting the company, the Jury found that the companies system of working digging trial pits was wholly and unnecessarily dangerous. The company had ignored well recognised industry guidance that prohibited entry into excavations more than 1.2 metres deep. Mr Wright was working in such a pit when he died.

The company was sentenced on the 17th February and fined the sum of £385,000.00.

Proceedings had additionally been brought against the Company Director who was originally charged with Gross Negligent Manslaughter and an offence contrary to Section 37 Health and Safety at Work Act 1974 but these proceedings were dropped in October 2010, when the Judge found that Mr Eaton was not well enough to stand Trial.

£200,000.00 FINE FOR FATALLY OVERLOADED TELEHANDLER

On the 28th January Recycler Ling Metals were fined £200,000.00 plus £11,000.00 costs for breaching Sections 2(1) and 3(1) of the Health and Safety at Work Act 1974 and Regulation 7(c) and 10(3) of the Lifting Operations and Lifting Appliances Regulations. The company had pleaded guilty to all four charges.

The fines came about after a Telehandler’s loading shovel hit a worker on the head and the over loaded machine tipped over. The worker Darren Baker suffered fatal injuries while he was helping to lay a new surface of recycled crumbed rubber in a outdoor riding arena.

PUB FINED FOR IGNORING LIFTING OPERATIONS AND LIFTING APPLIANCES REGULATIONS

A pub Proprietors persistent failure to ensure his cellar lifting equipment had been thoroughly checked by a competent person has ended up with a £18,000.00 fine.

Sandwell Council Prosecution Belal Hussain used to run the Marksman Pub in West Bromwich after he failed to comply with an improvement notice requiring a certificate showing that the pubs barrel hoist had been thoroughly examined under the Lifting Operations and Lifting Equipment Regulations.

The issues arose during a routine visit to the pub in December 2008. Following repeated attempts to contact Mr Hussain the Council served Legal Notices requiring him to get someone to check the Barrel Lift. During follow up visits, officers discovered the requirements had not been made.

Mr Hussain was fined £18,000.00 for failing to comply with a health and safety improvement notice relating to a safety certificate for a piece of lifting equipment in the cellar.

To discuss any of these issues please contact Jim McGarrity on 01908 692769 or email him at jmcgarrity@geoffreyleaver.com