Monday, May 13, 2024

Lincolnshire firm fined after worker hurt in electrical explosion

BBC
HSE
The incident happened at a recycling plant in Lincolnshire in July 2021

A firm has been fined £200,000 after a worker was badly injured when a crowbar he was using touched a live conductor.

The man was blown to the floor in an explosion, suffering burns to his face and body and broken ribs and an arm.

New Earth Solutions (West) Limited, of Caythorpe, Grantham, Lincolnshire, pleaded guilty to breaching the Safety at Work Act at Lincoln Magistrates' Court.


The company was ordered to pay £12,466 in costs.

The man was moving heavy-duty electrical cables with a metal crowbar on a mobile platform when the bar came into contact with the live conductor, causing an electrical explosion at Copper Hill industrial estate, Barkston Heath, in July 2021.

The Health and Safety Executive (HSE) said its investigation found that the "task was not part of the normal workload for the injured worker and that he had not received any training with regards to undertaking electrical work".

"The task had not been properly planned nor risk-assessed and the electrical cables were not isolated before work began," the HSE said.

"In addition, the level of supervision provided was inadequate and safety devices on the electrical supply had been set inappropriately, prioritising continuity of supply over safety of the electrical circuit."

Firm fined after roofer falls through skylight

Paul Burnell,
BBC News
HSE
The worker fell through a roof, fracturing vertebrae and breaking his foot and ankle

A company has been fined £20,000 after one of its staff was seriously injured falling through a roof.

Hightech Roofing N/W Ltd, of Failsworth in Greater Manchester, admitted breaching health and safety laws.

The worker fell 15ft (4.8m) through a roof in Blackburn, fracturing vertebrae and breaking his foot and ankle.

A Health and Safety Executive (HSE) probe found the firm had not put boards on the roof to prevent workers putting their feet through skylights.

HSE inspector Sam Eves said: "This incident could so easily have been avoided by simply carrying out correct control measures and safe working practices."

The worker used boards for most the work on the roof but there was no board over the roof light, through which the 24-year-old fell.

The inspector added the company had "also failed to assess the specific risks arising from the need to work on or over fragile surfaces, and failed to consider risks arising from employees working in proximity to the edge of the roof".

The company admitted breaching Regulation 4 of the Work at Height Regulations 2005.

It was also ordered to pay £5,858.46 costs at Preston Magistrates Court.

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