Animal Feed Company Prosecuted for Worker’s Fall from Height June 22, 2009
The Health and Safety Executive (HSE) is urging employers to fulfil their duties towards the safety of employees after an accident in Kettering, in which a worker fell from a height and sustained grave injuries.
Dodson and Horrell Limited, located in Kettering, were penalized £2,000 and were directed to pay costs of £2,255 at Kettering Magistrates Court after they entered a guilty plea for violation of the Health and Safety Regulations. The company admitted that it had failed to make an appropriate evaluation of the hazards to the health and safety of their employees, especially with regard to working at heights.
The Management of Health and Safety at Work Regulations require all employers to carry out an assessment of risk by a competent person, click on risk assessment training to ensure your organisation meets its basic commitments to providing a safe work environment for your staff.
The incident took place on 17 July 2008, at a site in Ringstead, Northamptonshire, when a 53-year-old worker, who was lubricating the chains on a machine that was used to pile bags of animal feed onto pallets, fell about six feet, resulting in broken ribs and a damaged lung.
HSE Inspector, Michelle Morrison, emphasized the need for a regular assessment of risks for people involved in working at heights and said that on an average about 1,000 workers suffer serious injuries at the workplace due to similar causes every month.
The verdict of the Kettering Magistrates Court has highlighted the fact that there is zero tolerance for slackness on issues of health and safety for employees in the workplace, and the serious consequences for companies that do not conform to the safety regulations.
