Wood company fined over £1million after injury of two workers

A multinational manufacturer of wood-based products has received a fine in excess of £1 million after the injuries of two of its workers in unrelated incidents.

West Fraser (Europe) Ltd (formerly Norbord) pleaded guilty to multiple breaches of health and safety regulations, which related to two incidents that occurred within six months of each other in 2020 at its Cowie plant.

The first incident involved a utility operator, Sean Gallagher, 29, whose leg became entangled in the moving parts of a storage bunker in January of 2020. Sean suffered serious injuries as a result.

Later on in the July of same year, 39-year-old scaffolder, David McMillan, fell over 13 feet to the ground from a rooftop gantry after a rusty plate gave way underfoot.

As a result, the Health and Safety Executive (HSE) carried out an investigation into both incidents. it also turns out that the same company has received a fine of over £2million in 2022, after an incident involving serious burns lead to the death of another employee at the same plant.

Mr. Gallagher was an employee of five years, Stirling Sheriff Court heard, of which the last two were spent working at its biomass plant. On the 20th of January, he identified a fault on a bunker. He then proceeded to carry out an inspection in accordance to the company’s safety procedures.

Later on in his shift, however, he identified further issues at the bunker and entered it once again. This time, however, he had not turned off the power. As a result, he was entangled in the machinery and had to contact the control room operator using his own phone.

After being extracted from the machinery, Sean was taken to hospital where it was established that he had suffered compound fractures to the tibia and fibula of his right leg.

The company installed a mesh guard over the bunker hatch as a result of the incident, which can only be removed by a supervisor releasing a padlock after the system has been isolated.

David McMillan was the subject of the second incident, which occurred on the 21st of July, 2020. David suffered multiple body fractures, including neck and ankle.

A steel gantry gave way as he was working at height, causing him to fall to the ground. He required 20 days in hospital as a result of the incident. The health and Safety Executive investigation concluded that there was neither a maintenance schedule or system of checks in place to ensure the safety of the gantry structure.

It was found that the gantry’s steel flooring had corroded in places, with some of the welding around the plates having reached the point of failure. After the incident occurred, the gantry was immediately placed out of bounds before being dismantled and removed from the site entirely.

HSE verdicts

In relation to the incident involving Sean Gallagher, West Fraser (Europe) Ltd pleaded guilty to failing to comply with regulations 11(1) and (2) of the Provision and Use of Work Equipment Regulations 1998 and section 33(1)(c) of the Health and Safety at Work etc. Act 1974. The company received a fine of £28,000 at Stirling Sheriff Court on 17 February 2025.

For the David McMillan incident, they pleaded guilty to failing to comply with sections 4(2) and 33(1)(a) of the Health and Safety at Work etc. Act 1974. The company received a fine of £1,040,000 at Stirling Sheriff Court on 17 February 2025.

HSE inspector, Stuart Easson, said after the hearing:

“This is the second time in five years this company has been handed a large fine for failing to protect workers.

“Although both men sustained very serious injuries in these latest incidents, both are lucky to be alive.

“We hope this outcome demonstrates that repeated failures of this nature are not acceptable.”

Further reading

Accidents at work – Oakwood Solicitors

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