Sellafield fined £400,000 following fractured spine at work

Sellafield Ltd, a large nuclear power plant controlled by government body the Nuclear Decommissioning Authority, has received a hefty fine after their employee sustained lifechanging injuries at work.

The unnamed employee was working for the site in October 2021 when he was asked to repair a leaking pipeline, which was slippery due to leaking acid. When exiting the area, the employee attempted to use a scaffolding ladder but sadly fell around three meters, fracturing several vertebrae in his spine.

To date, the staff member is still suffering with a significant impairment to his mobility and he has been unable to return to work, almost 18 months after the incident.

Sellafield Ltd admitted to a breach of section 2(1) of the Health and Safety at Work Act 1974 by failing to ‘ensure, so far as reasonably practicable, the health, safety and welfare at work of all of his employees’ and received a £400,000 fine, along with an order to pay £30,000 in prosecution costs.

Paul Dicks, the director of regulation for Sellafield advised that:

“We welcome the outcome, which recognises that Sellafield Ltd fell short in its duty to protect a worker. This accident was entirely avoidable. Nobody should go to work and not come home in a fit and healthy state… We concluded that there were several missed opportunities that could have prevented this accident occurring.”

Martin Chown, a representative of Sellafield added “We deeply regret this incident, and we acknowledge that on this occasion we fell short in our legal duty to protect the safety of our employee… We will continue to work hard to ensure that safety and security at Sellafield is the very best it can be.”

Our comments

Sadly, accidents involving factories, nuclear plants and manufacturing sites are common due to the dangers presented, which some tasks cannot avoid. However, as the above case demonstrates, employers are required to minimise the risk of harm to a level as low as reasonably possible.

Where a task involves working at height, employers must ensure that the task is properly planned, employees are adequately trained and the correct equipment is provided.

Next steps

If your employer has not incorporated some of the measures listed above, you may be entitled to compensation and your employer may even be criminally sanctioned due to their failings.

If you do unfortunately suffer an injury at work, 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

What should I do if I suffer an accident at work? – Oakwood Solicitors

ACAS – Sick pay entitlement

WHAT TO DO NEXT

Get in touch today for a no-obligation consultation. Choose one of the methods on the right-hand side of this page, or call us on 0113 200 9720 to find out how we can help you with your enquiry.