Firework manufacturer receives hefty fine following fatal explosion

A firework factory has received a £500,000 fine after an employee sadly passed away when a firework ignited in their factory.

Brendan Ledgister, who was aged 24 at the time and had become a Father only 8 months prior, was working for Le Maitre Ltd (now LM140121 Limited) making a pyrotechnic composition.

However, when doing so, a product suddenly set alight, causing a substantial explosion, which resulted in Mr Ledgister sustaining severe burns and significant damage to the property. Whilst Mr Ledgister was taken to hospital, he sadly died of his injuries the following day.

Following the incident, the Health and Safety Executive completed an investigation and Peterborough Magistrates’ Court held that the company failed Mr Ledgister in multiple ways and breached section 2(1) of the Health and Safety at Work Act by failing to ensure, so far as reasonably practicable, that the health, safety and welfare of their employees was met.

In particular, it was held that the premises and equipment were not adequate, the company failed to provide suitable training to their employees and Mr Ledgister was not sufficiently supervised, making the business’s system of work unsafe. The company received a £500,000 fine and was ordered to pay legal costs in the sum of £20,788.65.

Mr Ledgister’s father advised that his son was “kind, gentle and funny” and “its all been taken away from us – especially from his daughter… she didn’t even know him”.

The Health and Safety inspector commented that “while the explosive sector in the UK is relatively small and incidents relatively uncommon, when they do occur they often result in significant injury or death. This case should reinforce the message to the sector that appropriate precautions must be maintained or an event such as this is likely”.

Our comments

As the above case demonstrates, fireworks, explosives and flammable materials can result in deadly or significant injuries. It is therefore essential that companies ensure that all employees receive extensive training which is refreshed at regular intervals and they are only instructed to complete such dangerous tasks when secure facilities are provided with the correct tools and safety equipment to protect them, such as safety glass, gloves and goggles.

We would advise that all staff are supervised and all protective equipment is checked on regular occasions to ensure that it both remains adequate and correctly fits each employee.

Once such goods leave manufacturers, this duty extends to sellers before transferring to event organisers and even individual users of the same, failing which substantial avoidable harm may occur.

When arranging a firework display, it is essential that all visitors are kept at a safe distance away from the danger, with particular care to be taken around young and vulnerable children.

Next steps

If you do unfortunately suffer an injury due to fireworks or other hazardous products, we would recommend that you read our related article which can be found here, or contact us so we can advise you on your rights and options.

Further reading

Accidents at work – Oakwood Solicitors

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