A farmer has been sentenced after a worker suffered multiple injuries after becoming entangled in the contra-rotating rollers of a potato harvester.

On 21 August 2020, the worker was involved in unblocking the potato harvester at a farm in Kent when he stepped down on to the rollers. The worker was pulled leg first into the machine and became stuck up to his knee. This resulted in burns to the leg, a pulled hamstring, torn calf, broken nerves and hairline fractures to the knee and ankle.

The HSE’s investigation found that the farmer had failed to implement a ‘safe stop procedure’ to isolate power and stop the movement of the rollers before the worker accessed them.

Alan Down of Main Road, Sellindge, Ashford, Kent pleaded guilty to breaching Regulation 11(1)(b) of the Provision and Use of Work Equipment Regulations 1998. He was fined £4,992 and ordered to pay costs of £5,805.

Speaking after the hearing, HSE inspector Sam Brown said: “Too often we see incidents like this, where maintenance is carried out on live machinery and the principles of ‘safe stop’ and safe maintenance are ignored.

“The agricultural industry accounts for around one per cent of the workforce in Great Britain, yet it accounts for 20 per cent of worker deaths. Many of these deaths are due to poor working practices while carrying out maintenance on machinery. In addition, many more workers are seriously injured each year due to unsafe working practices while working on machinery.

“Those undertaking maintenance work on agricultural machinery should ensure that the principles of ‘safe stop’ are followed to prevent people being put at risk of injury.”

HSE

March 2022

 

Business fined for death of forklift truck operator

A building supplies firm has admitted breaching health and safety standards over the death of an employee who was crushed by a forklift truck.

Chestnut Building Centres, of Picton Road, Wavertree, was fined £94,500 for not maintaining on-site health and safety standards which resulted in the death of 62-year-old Robert Ambrose. In addition to the £94,500 fine, the firm was also ordered to pay investigation costs of £66,025 awarded to Liverpool City Council.

The incident happened on 15 November 2018, when the forklift truck Mr Ambrose was driving toppled over after a delivery lorry made contact with it, trapping him underneath the truck. He sustained serious injuries and died in hospital a few days later

An investigation undertaken by Liverpool City Council’s Environmental Health Officers (EHO) found a series of health and safety failings at the Picton Road builders merchants. Most noticeably, that forklift truck operators routinely did not wear seatbelts/restraints which would prevent the operator from being thrown out of the vehicle in the event of an overturn.

The investigating officers also found there were risks posed by a lack of proper management of delivery vehicles and the unsafe movement and poor separation of vehicles and pedestrians at the site.

Chestnut Building Centres Ltd had pleaded guilty to the breaches at an earlier hearing at Liverpool and Knowsley Magistrates Court on the 11 November 2021.

Mr Ambrose had been an employee of the company for more than 40 years and was due to retire in March this year.

Liverpool City Council’s Cabinet Member for Neighbourhoods, Cllr Abdul Qadir, said: “This is a dreadfully sad case and I thank the environmental health officers for their dogged determination in getting this case to court.

“Quite simply, this should never have happened. Nobody should ever go to work and not go home and it is the responsibility of all businesses to ensure they are doing everything in their power to ensure health and safety regulations are adhered to at all times.

“I’d like to express my deepest sympathy to Mrs Ambrose and her family, and we hope bringing this business to justice provides them with some comfort at this incredibly difficult time.”

In court, District Judge Hatton said: “This is an awful case in the most tragic of circumstances and nothing can be said to ease the pain of the family and friends. Robert Ambrose was a valued and respected member of the company. The incident was avoidable and shouldn’t have happened. There was a basic failure to manage risk as vehicles interacted with pedestrians and there was a casualness about vehicles in the yard. I must impose a fine so casualness doesn’t creep in through the backdoor.”

 

The supermarket was fined following its first health and safety conviction after the jaw of a customer was shattered by the inadvertent car park trap.

The customer suffered life-changing injuries and needed titanium plates inserted in her jaw after falling victim to the trap while travelling in her mobility scooter. She could have been decapitated by twine stretched taut between two car park pillars, a court heard.

Reading Magistrates’ Court was told that the system put thousands of customers at the Sainsbury’s superstore in Newbury at risk.

Elizabeth Varcoe, prosecuting on behalf of West Berkshire Council, said the store had created a queuing system in the car park during the Coronavirus lockdown using high visibility, red and white plastic tape to mark lanes.

However, when these were vandalised, the store manager opted to use thin but strong baler twine drawn taut between two pillars in one area. On 21 June 2020 the customer arrived at the store on her mobility scooter and ran into the twine at speed, face first.

Ms Varcoe said the twine caused horrific injuries, splitting the customer’s mouth open and fracturing her teeth, jaw and palate. She was taken to the John Radcliffe Hospital in Oxford for emergency surgery.

Surgeons had to implant titanium plates and screws to rebuild her jaw and palate, and she now needs ongoing medical treatment.

 

No risk assessment

Ms Varcoe suggested the twine amounted to an inadvertent “booby trap”, which could have strangled or even decapitated someone during the seven weeks it was used. She said no risk assessment had been conducted on the use of the twine to replace the plastic tape.

Sainsbury Supermarkets Ltd, who has an annual turnover of £24 billion, admitted exposing customers to danger and failing to make a suitable risk assessment contrary to the Health and Safety at Work etc Act 1974.

Kate Blackwell QC, a Sainsburys spokesperson pointed out that the company had a previously spotless health and safety record with zero previous convictions.

She added that store management had co-operated with the investigation throughout – immediate steps were taken to remove the twine and that the company had so far paid more than £31,000 towards the victim’s medical and care bills although a civil case was also pending.

Ms Blackwell added that the store manager had decided to use the twine “for the best of reasons” and challenged a suggestion that the customer could have been decapitated.

District judge Samuel Goozee responded: “Care should be taken not to sensationalise the risk”.

He acknowledged that the company “had to rapidly respond to Government guidance to protect the public during a pandemic while continuing to provide an essential service to the public,” but added: “A sufficient risk assessment would have identified the risks from the baler twine extended between metal posts.

“Ironically the manager’s decision to use the twine was a response to other health and safety issues that would have arisen from vandalism and weather damage. Nevertheless, it was a decision that was inadequate”.

The judge fined the supermarket £1 million and ordered the company to pay £18,263.62 costs, plus a statutory victim services surcharge of £190.

Following the sentencing, a Sainsbury’s spokesperson said: “Safety is our highest priority and we were deeply concerned by this incident.

“We launched an immediate investigation and urgent steps were taken to prevent this from ever happening again. We are also in close contact with [the customer] and continue to support her recovery in any way we can.”

Sainsbury’s was prosecuted following an investigation by officers from the Council’s Public Protection Partnership supported by West Berkshire Council legal team.

Cllr Hilary Cole, West Berkshire Executive Member for Housing, Strategic Partnership and Transformation said: “This was a serious accident which is clearly reflected in the penalty. It is important that all employers have robust risk assessments and they are effectively implemented”.

The Reading Chronicle

March 2022