Firm fined £10k for fall
A Sunderland building firm has been fined £10,000 following an incident in which one of its workers was injured. Murray Construction and Development pleaded guilty to a breach of the Health and Safety at Work Act 1974 after an employee fell 2.8 metres from rafters on to a concrete floor last year.
Fine over blinded worker
The Health and Safety Executive has warned employers about the need to properly maintain machinery and provide adequate training after a company was fined £10,500 after a worker was left blind in one eye. Weldex UK pleaded guilty to three breaches of the Provision and Use of Work Equipment Regulations 1998 over the incident last year. A worker was hit in the eye when a grinding disc shattered and penetrated his visor.
Quarry accident fine
A Northumberland quarry firm and foreman have been fined over an incident where a worker became trapped in machinery. W&M Thompson (Quarries) and Alan Armstrong were fined £3,000 and £1,756 costs and £1,200 and £500 costs respectively. The employee spent six days in hospital with cracked ribs and bruised lungs after getting trapped in a rotating, unguarded shaft between a tractor and a water bowser.
Head injury warning
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A quarry employee working without head protection was left with serious injuries when he was hit by a lump of sandstone. The accident last year has led to Bromsgrove firm Wildmoor Quarry Products being fined £5,000 and ordered to pay costs of £3,520. The Health and Safety Executive has said the case highlights the importance of ensuring suitable protective equipment is not only provided, but worn.
