Company Receives Heavy Fine/Custodial Sentence

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J Murphy Aggregates Ltd, a construction company based in Pudsey, Leeds, have recently been fined over £100,000 after two of their employees have sustained injuries from serious accidents at work.

The first incident occurred when J Murphy Aggregates Ltd employed James Duggan to use a tracked excavator. Mr Duggan held a Construction Plant Competence Scheme (CPCS) card but he had no qualifications to use a tracked excavator.

Company Receives Heavy Fine

Despite this, Mr Duggan agreed to the request and began to use the machine to “munch” a stockpile. Unfortunately, when doing so, the ground below the excavator gave way, resulting in the equipment falling down the stockpile and colliding with another worker, who was flung from the machine he was operating at the time.

The employee, who was aged 58 at the time, sustained several fractures to the legs and a fracture to the right pelvis, hip and skull alongside two punctured lungs and a dislocated kneecap. Due to the extent of his injuries, the employee was hospitalised for over a year and his right hip needed to be removed, making his right leg permanently shorter than his left by a considerable amount.

Following this accident, J Murphy Aggregates Ltd pleaded guilty to breaching Section 2 and Section 3 of the Health & Safety at Work Act 1974, receiving a £70,000 fine. The company’s sole director, Shaun Murphy, also pleaded guilty to breaching the same Act, receiving an eight month prison sentence (which has been suspended for two years), 160 hours of community service, 20 rehabilitation activity requirement days and he was ordered to pay £2242.50 in costs.

The excavator operator, James Duggan, pleaded guilty to breaching Section 3 and Section 7 of the Health & Safety at Work Act 1974, receiving an 8 month custodial sentence (which was suspended for two years) and he was also ordered to pay £2242.50 in costs.

The Health and Safety Executive (HSE) inspector David Beaton commented: “These cases are a damning indictment of a company which has consistently permitted unsafe systems of work.“ Shaun Murphy failed to ensure that James Duggan had the relevant skills, knowledge, experience, and training to use the excavator at the site.

James Duggan knew he was only qualified to operate a crusher as permitted by his CPCS card. “The result was this tragic incident which could so easily have been avoided by using the correct control measures and safe working practices”.

Sadly, the dangers at J Murphy Aggregates continued when a further employee left work on the 4^th of January 2020 with severe crush injuries to his right leg after he was dragged under a 360 excavator.

The employee, who was a wagon driver at the time of the accident, noticed that there was rubbish hanging from the side of his truck, which had been filled by a nearby 360 excavator. The driver therefore approached the side of his vehicle to remove the excess when suddenly the excavator tracked forward, dragging the employee’s leg underneath this, causing it to become crushed, broken and degloved below the knee.

Due to the horrific extent of his injuries, the driver required several operations to repair his fractures and he required numerous skin and muscle regrafts. Sadly, due to the regraft failing in his ankle and due to complications with his leg, the employee’s leg was eventually amputated below the knee. The driver’s left leg has also become badly scarred and damaged due to the muscle and skin that needed to be taken from this.

The Health and Safety Executive has since held that J Murphy Aggregates Ltd failed to have a sufficient segregation between heavy vehicles in use and pedestrians in the area. Astonishingly, as part of the investigation, CCTV was located which showed that in the weeks leading up to the second accident, several other employees were almost hit by machinery, demonstrating how dangerous the company’s practices were.

As a result of the second incident, J Murphy Aggregates Ltd has been fined £50,000 and they have been ordered to pay £8750 in costs.

The Health and Safety Executive has advised:

“That another worker should sustain injury as a result of J Murphy’s failure to implement safe systems of work is deplorable. Segregation measures should have been in place to prevent pedestrians from being within the danger zone…. I hope this case sends strong signals to businesses that HSE will not hesitate to take action where employers fail to meet health and safety standards and put their workers and the public at risk.”

What should I do if an accident has happened at my workplace?

As the above cases demonstrate, accidents at work can have far reaching consequences to victims, staff members, directors and companies directly, with many incidents being easily preventable.

Here at Oakwood Solicitors, we have a wealth of experience in advising employees and companies regarding their rights and obligations.

We can advise you on your legal position and assist you with a claim you may wish to make (even if you are an agency worker). Claims can include reimbursing any loss of earnings you have incurred and providing any treatment which may be needed for your injury.

Construction Company Receives Heavy Fine and Custodial Sentence Following Accidents At Work

J Murphy Aggregates Ltd, a construction company based in Pudsey, Leeds, have recently been fined over £100,000 after two of their employees have sustained injuries from serious accidents at work.

What should I do if an accident has happened at my workplace?

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