Employee Suffers Serious Injuries | Leicestershire Based Company Fined | Kangs Health and Safety Regulatory Solicitors
Leicester Magistrates’ Court has imposed a substantial fine upon a Leicestershire based aluminium extrusion company (‘the company’) after an employee suffered serious injuries to his hand and leg.
Amandeep Murria of Kangs Solicitors sets out the circumstances.
The Circumstances | Kangs Solicitors Health and Safety Team
The employee and four other employees were carrying out vital maintenance work to an aluminium extrusion machine.
A chain mesh sling was being used to put in place a new stem.
An overhead crane was being used to position the stem correctly into position.
The stem fell, striking the employee to his hand and leg which resulted in serious and severe injuries.
The Health & Safety Executive conducted a thorough investigation and concluded that:
- The employee had not received adequate training
- The company had failed to undertake any risk assessments regarding the use of the equipment
- The company had failed to implement a safe system of work on how the equipment should be used
The Relevant Law | Kangs Regulatory Law Advisors
The Health and Safety at Work etc. Act 1974 (‘the Act’) provides:
‘2 General duties of employers to their employees.
(1) It shall be the duty of every employer to ensure, so far as is reasonably practicable, the health, safety and welfare at work of all his employees.
(2) Without prejudice to the generality of an employer’s duty under the preceding subsection, the matters to which that duty extends include in particular
(a) the provision and maintenance of plant and systems of work that are, so far as is reasonably practicable, safe and without risks to health;
(b) arrangements for ensuring, so far as is reasonably practicable, safety and absence of risks to health in connection with the use, handling, storage and transport of articles and substances;
(c) the provision of such information, instruction, training and supervision as is necessary to ensure, so far as is reasonably practicable, the health and safety at work of his employees;
(d) so far as is reasonably practicable as regards any place of work under the employer’s control, the maintenance of it in a condition that is safe and without risks to health and the provision and maintenance of means of access to and egress from it that are safe and without such risks;
(e) the provision and maintenance of a working environment for his employees that is, so far as is reasonably practicable, safe, without risks to health, and adequate as regards facilities and arrangements for their welfare at work.’
The Hearing | Kangs Health and Safety Solicitors
The company pleaded guilty to breaching Regulation 2 (1) of the Act and was:
- Fined £133,000
- Ordered to pay Prosecution Costs of £6,346.30
An Inspector from the Health & Safety Executive, Michelle Morrison, was quoted as saying:
“Those in control of work have a responsibility to devise safe methods of working and to provide the necessary information, instruction and training to their workers in the safe system of working.”
“Companies should be aware that HSE will not hesitate to take appropriate action against those that fall below the required standards”.
How Can We Help? | Kangs Safety At Work Solicitors
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