News and Knowledge

Sunderland shipyard crush incident captured on CCTV

A workplace accident has been captured on CCTV, showing the moment a welder suffered a crushing injury.   On the 18th of October 2022, an incident at Pallion Shipyard in Sunderland left David Vinsome with multiple rib fractures and internal injuries, including a burst abdominal wall. The Health and Safety Executive has shared the footage…

Roofer receives suspended sentence after employee falls from scaffold

A self-employed roofer has been handed a suspended prison sentence following serious injuries of a worker falling from scaffold.   A 16-week custodial sentence was handed down to Daniel Hooper, to be suspended for 12 months, after 36-year-old Iain Smith fell over 25 feet whilst working for Hooper on a scaffold on the 13th of…

Accidents at Work: Company and director sentenced for putting workers at risk

A roofing firm has been fined and its director has been handed a suspended prison sentence after the lives of workers were put at risk during a renovation in Surrey.   Weather Master Roofing Limited and company director Jack Avanzo, also known as Jack Avenzo, were sentenced at Brighton Magistrates’ Court on Monday following a…

Nearly two million Brits suffered illness or injury at work this year

Almost two million British workers suffered an injury or illness caused by their job in the past year, figures have revealed.   The Health and Safety Executive this week published their workplace statistics for 23/24 which highlights how many employees are suffering at the hands of their employer.     The statistics reveal that the…

Ginsters fined £1.28million after employee killed by lorry

The owner of Ginsters has been fined £1.28 million after an employee was killed by a lorry that was delivering supplies to the bakery where it makes its pasties.   Paul Clarke was fatally crushed on 2 December 2021 after being struck by the vehicle as it reversed into a loading bay at The Cornwall…

MoD admits it ‘did not do enough’ after soldier dies during training exercise

The Ministry of Defence has been handed a sanction by the Health and Safety Executive after a reservist died during a training exercise in North Yorkshire.   Staff Sergeant John McKelvie, 51, died in hospital after the Jackal he was driving rolled down a hill and overturned during an off-roading exercise at Catterick Training Area…

Did you work at Tata Steel?

Port Talbot’s Tata Steelworks shut down this week, resulting in 2,800 jobs being put at risk.   Earlier this year it was announced that Tata was making job cuts after plans were released to go ahead with a greener form of steelmaking.     Tata Steel, announced plans to produce steel more environmentally friendly, using…

Company fined £40,000 after explosion at factory

A chemical factory has been fined following an explosion at its factory in the Scottish Borders.   The blast at Rathburn Chemicals in Walkerburn on 10 January 2020 resulted in a laboratory, which was part of the factory, being demolished.     According to the Health and Safety Executive, it was likely caused by excessive…

Balfour Beatty sentenced and fined after worker falls from height

Construction company Balfour Beatty has been sentenced after a 62-year-old worker fell 10 metres to the ground and died during the assembly of a new university facility.   The Health and Safety Executive (HSE) investigated the fall and prosecuted Balfour Beatty, with the firm fined £285,000 on Monday 16th of September.     The incident…

National Grid fined £3.2million after pylon worker suffers serious burns

The National Grid has been fined more than £3 million after a father-of-two was left with life-changing injuries whilst working on a pylon in South Wales.   Justin Hollins was replacing step bolts on the pylon at Treforest Industrial Estate in Pontypridd, when he received an electric shock of 33 thousand volts. The 50-year-old sustained…