Oil giant Shell and two of its contractors have been fined £283,000 by the Health and Safety Executive following an accident at one of their oil refineries which left a worker paralysed from the waist down.
According to The Times, the accident occurred at the Ellesmere Port complex in Cheshire in 2007. A 500 kilogram container fell from a height of 30ft down on to the walkway below, landing on Mr Stephen Rizzotti and breaking his back, pelvis and both legs, leaving him wheelchair bound. The HSE labelled the incident as “totally avoidable” and Shell pleaded guilty to contravening the Lifting Operations and Lifting Equipment Regulations 1998 at Warrington Crown Court. Shell and its contracting companies conceded that they had “failed to provide a safe working environment” but did note that they “have taken steps…to prevent a recurrence” since the accident.
It is important that the HSE continues to put to task companies who fail in their duty of care to their employees and the scale of this fine will hopefully spur on Shell to continue to make safety adjustments where necessary to ensure that not only is there no recurrence of this incident but also that future potential safety hazards are identified and reasonable provisions put in place to limit the chances of accidents occurring. Employers are required to perform risk assessments on their system of working and operations in general and this is an ongoing requirement which needs regular review to ensure the safety of employees.
In addition to the fine which was handed to Shell by the HSE, Mr Rizzotti will undoubtedly have been able to bring a personal injury claim due to the serious nature of his injuries and Shell will no doubt have paid out a not inconsiderable sum to Mr Rizzotti to compensate him for his injuries and also any limitations placed upon his future earnings potential.
