Dairy Crest fined for fall
Businesses have been reminded of the dangers of having poor safety precautions after a company was fined £18,000 over an accident where a worker was seriously injured after falling into a six-foot deep pit. Surrey firm Dairy Crest pleaded guilty to health and safety breaches over the incident in June 2007, which left the worker with injuries to his groin that later needed surgery.
£7,500 fine over death
The death of a 17-year-old joinery apprentice has prompted the Health and Safety Executive to remind company directors that they have a duty to protect staff. Mansfield joiner Christopher Pridmore was fined £7,500 over an the death in November 2006, of apprentice Simon Murphy when a stack of MDF boards fell on him.
Chipboard manufacturer fined £25,000 over serious injuries
A Hexham-based chipboard manufacturer has been fined £25,000 following serious workplace accidents in May and August 2007 that left one man with serious crush injuries and another having a leg amputated. Egger UK pleaded guilty to six breaches of health and safety legislation. In the first a chipping machine fell on to an employee, and in the second, a worker became trapped between a conveyor and a processing machine.
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Poor sight raises risk
Thousands of British workers are putting themselves at risk by operating heavy machinery when they know their eyesight is weak. A study by the College of Optometrists found one in five drivers aged between 35 and 55 had driven knowing that they had poor eyesight, and 9% of those operated machinery.
