HSE: Latest prosecution updates 15/10/2020

Animal feed company fined £140,000 after a serious injury to an employee

An animal feed processing company has been fined following an incident where part of an employee’s arm was severed by a moving conveyor. Chesterfield Justice Centre heard how, on 09 December 2018, the employee had opened the inspection hatch on a closed conveyor in order to clear a blockage at the site in Killamarsh, Derbyshire. The conveyor started unexpectedly, severing the employee’s right arm below the elbow. Hi Peak Feeds Limited of Sheffield Road, Killamarsh, Derbyshire, pleaded guilty to breaching Section 2 (1) of the Health and Safety at Work etc Act 1974. It was fined £140,000 by the HSE and ordered to pay costs of £2,591.30.

Manufacturer of plastic tubing and blown fibre tubing fined £100,000 after a worker was injured

Emtelle UK Limited, a manufacturer of plastic tubing and blown fibre tubing for telecoms and water piping, has been fined after an employee suffered serious injuries to his left hand when it came into contact with the exposed clamp of a socket machine.
Jedburgh Sheriff Court heard how, on 3 November 2016, an employee was working on a socket machine, building a pipe into a socket, at their site at Oxnam Road, Jedburgh, Roxburghshire. He was placing a pipe into a socket when the shorter length of pipe fell out, the worker reached to catch the pipe to prevent it being clamped and his left hand came into contact with the exposed clamp causing serious injury.
Emtelle UK Limited, Haughhead, Hawick, Roxburghshire pleaded guilty to Regulations 11(1) and (2) of the Provision and Use of work Equipment Regulations 1998 and were fined £100,000.

Manufacturer fined £22,000 after worker’s arm caught in machinery

A Wirral-based company that manufactures composite hose products has been fined after an inexperienced agency worker was injured when he was pulled into a spinning lathe, sustaining open fractures to his right arm.
Liverpool Magistrates’ Court heard how, on 20 November 2018, a worker at Novaflex Ltd was operating a lathe at the Bromborough site when the sleeve of his sweatshirt caught between a pitch wheel and rotating mandrel, pulling his arm into the machine. This resulted in an open fracture of the ulna (long bone found in the forearm) and the radial shaft of his right arm, leaving it permanently weak, making day-to-day tasks difficult and stressful. He also suffered severe bruising to his body and skin abrasions.
Novaflex Ltd of Power Road, Bromborough, Wirral pleaded guilty to breaching Sections 2 and 3 of Health and Safety at Work Act 1974. The company was fined £22,000 and ordered to pay costs of £7,021.30.

Manufacturer fined £12,000 after an employee suffered crush injuries

A manufacturer of carbon-based products, SGL Carbon Fibres Limited (SGL), has been fined following an incident where an employee sustained soft tissue injuries to his right hip and a fracture to his lower right leg.

Inverness Sheriff Court heard that, on 25 April 2016, Mr Cameron Fraser was working at SGL, Great North Road, Muir of Ord Industrial Estate, Muir of Ord, Ross-shire, carrying out maintenance work on equipment known as a Regenerative Thermal Oxidiser (RTO). Whilst inside the RTO Mr Fraser had become trapped between a moving poppet valve and the valve seat.

SGL Carbon Fibres Limited of Great North Road, Muir of Ord Industrial Estate, Muir of Ord, Ross-shire pleaded guilty to breaching The Provision and Use of Work Equipment Regulations 1998, Regulation 11(1) and (2) and Section 33(1)(c) of the Health and Safety at Work Etc. Act 1974 and was fined £12,000.

To book an AssessNET health and safety software demonstration, visit our request a demo page