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Site manager and worker ordered to pay seven thousand pounds in fines and costs

This story serves as an important reminder that employers have a duty of care to their employees for their health and safety.

Reports from the HSE confirmed that 27-year-old Ryan Musgrave suffered serious injuries when he was struck by a concrete skip on the construction site he worked on in South London. As a result of the incident, the HSE investigated accordingly.
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According to Health and Safety Executive (HSE) statistics, slips, trips and falls are the most common injuries at work, accounting for over a third of all major work injuries.

Slip incidents are also one of the most common types of accidents giving rise to a claim for personal injury. The question of compensation depends on whether the third party was negligent in preventing the slip.
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Your employer has a legal duty to provide you with a safe workplace where all dangers are removed where possible. Where the hazards pose a risk to employees and cannot be removed (perhaps because it’s a part of the nature of the work), employers must do all they can to provide protection for the employee, and this is where Personal Protective Equipment (PPE) comes in.
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If this is not a lesson learnt, then I do not know what is…

T & D Galvanising Ltd were found to have breached the duty of care owed to their employee, Mr Ali Zada, who sadly suffered severe injuries to his leg and foot in June 2015.

On the day in question, Mr Zada was lifting wires that were tied around a bundle of mesh panels, when the overheard crane snapped on one side which caused the mesh panels to swing down and hit his leg.

Mr Zada suffered fractures to his leg and foot.
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Health and safety in the workplace is so, so important. Getting it right and wrong can literally be the difference between life and death…

In this employer’s negligence case, an employee of Cornish Construction Company, Roger Daw, tragically had both his legs amputated after he was crushed by a dumper truck during the course of his employment.

A truly horrifying incident.
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A 32-year-old man sustained severe injuries after falling five metres through a roof he was working on.

His employers, the Richardson Roofing Company Limited (RRCL), were found to be liable for his injuries and losses, and were fined £200,000 for not providing adequate safety measures for their employee.

This was a serious incident indeed, and it was entirely preventable.
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In November 2015, at Quantum Exhibitions and Displays Ltd in Hipperholme, a 26 year old worker broke his right leg tibia and fibula bones, suffered burns on his right hand, and sustained an open fracture of the index finger on the same hand.

All very nasty injuries.

This was due to a three tonne vibrating road roller that the worker was using sliding down a steep incline and trapping him underneath.
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Tata Steel has been fined as two workers suffered hand injuries on two separate incidents involving machinery.

A 52-year-old employee lost part of his little finger when his left hand was caught in an inadequately guarded machine while undergoing refresher training. A 25 year old employee also lost two thirds of his left hand and his middle and ring fingers while trying to unblock a steel tube manufacturing line that also did not have suitable guarding. These were two separate incidents.

Such incidents should not be occurring in a well established firm like Tata Steel, and the result is significant fines for clear health and safety failings.
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Foodles Production (UK) Ltd have pleaded guilty to failing to protect actors and workers on set following an incident where Hollywood actor Harrison Ford suffered a broken leg and other injuries. Harrison Ford was struck by a metal door on the set of the Millennium Falcon on the 12^th June 2014 at Pinewood Studios.

The actor believed that the structure was inactive and so walked underneath it – but it was remotely operating which meant it ended up pinning the actor to the ground, resulting in his broken leg. The accident posed a risk of death, and if an emergency stop had not been activated, then it could have killed somebody.

Harrison Ford became trapped under the closing metal-framed door which had a weight comparable to that of a small car.
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Before we answer this question, lets understand first how a work accident claim actually works…

The Pre-Action Protocol for Low Value Personal Injury (Employers’ Liability and Public Liability) Claims governs the process for those making a claim against their employer for personal injury.

The first step is submitting the Claim Notification Form (CNF) where the employer will have to confirm whether they accept liability or not within 30 days of receiving the form. This varies from public liability where the period is 40 days.

In most cases, the insurers deal with the claim and we have very little contact with your actual employer moving forward.
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