Health and Safety News
We scour the Internet for Health and Safety related news items on an almost daily basis.
The news articles and clippings, curated by MD Safety, highlight the requirements for compliance with UK Health and Safety Legislation and best practice across all industry sectors.
The majority of the information and cases will apply to a greater or lesser degree to our broad range of Clients and lessons to be learned will be able to be gained.
The Health and Safety Executive (HSE) has issued a safety notice for those involved in lorry loader operations with powered 'tilting' also known as ‘swing-up’ or ‘rotating’ stabilisers. It says it is aware of three fatal incidents in Great Britain since 2019, where the operator of a lorry loader has been crushed against the bodywork of the vehicle by the retracting leg of a powered tilting stabiliser.
Read MoreUK Regulatory Outlook January 2024
12-01-24
Right now, there’s probably at least one area of your business facing transformative change driven by technology or digital risk. The vast majority of businesses operate in and benefit from the urban environment.
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MD Safety comment: The risks associated with confined spaces are well known and robust procedures must be established.
Kettering General Hospital NHS Foundation Trust has been fined £480,000 after an employee suffered a brain injury after he was found unconscious in a manhole. The man had been unblocking a drain at the hospital on 1 February 2022 when he was discovered by other members of staff.
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A company in Leicestershire has been fined £900,000 after a father-of-two was crushed to death. Lee Benham died on 4 November 2021 while attempting to move a scissor lift at Nationwide Platform Limited’s workshop in Liskeard, Cornwall.
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A joinery firm in south east London has been fined £14,000 for health and safety failings, including putting its workers at risk of exposure to wood dust. Sidcup-based DLD Joinery Limited was inspected by the Health and Safety Executive (HSE) in May 2022 as part of the workplace regulator’s Dust Kills campaign, which targets woodworking businesses due to the significant health risks associated with wood dust.
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MD Safety comment: It is essential that Contractors develop a safe system of work. Clients must ensure that systems are in place to formally review proposed Contractor activities to ensure they are sufficiently risk assessed.
A company has been fined after shocked onlookers spotted an employee precariously working from height while standing on a pallet raised by a forklift truck at Ramsgate Harbour. The Health and Safety Executive (HSE) prosecuted European Active Projects (EAP) Limited for breaching Work at Height Regulations after one of its workers was spotted on the pallet on 8 July 2022. The workplace regulator was alerted to the activity after it was reported by a member of the public, who managed to capture the terrifying debacle on video.
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MD Safety comment: This case demonstrates why a work at height risk assessment resulting int he correct choice of access equipment is essential.
A company and its director have been sentenced after an employee fell from height and suffered serious injuries. Andrew Smith fractured his left femur, left elbow, left arm and pelvis after falling approximately three metres off a ladder on 28 July 2021.
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MD Safety comment: Planning is essential to avoid these types of accidents when undertaking work at height.
A roofing company has been fined a total of £881,000 after two workers were seriously injured during two separate incidents. Billy Hewitt, a worker at Mitie Tilley Roofing Limited, fractured his pelvis after falling through a factory roof in Newcastle. Meanwhile, a 24-year-old labourer employed by RM Scaffolding broke his femur after falling through the roof of a building in Swansea while working on a project run by Mitie Tilley Roofing Limited.
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There has been little improvement in reducing the number of workplace falls from height over the past year, statistics have revealed. The statistics from the Health & Safety Executive (HSE) show over 5,000 people were injured at work in the UK last year due to a fall from height – and 40 people also lost their lives.
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A garage has been fined £12,000 after a customer was crushed by his own vehicle at a garage in North London. Tottenham resident Mahmut Emanet is “lucky to be alive”, according to an inspector from the Health and Safety Executive (HSE).
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