prosecutions

26th October 2016

Kent recycling firm fined £300,000

A Kent based recycling company has been fined £300,000 and ordered to pay £8,903 after a worker was injured whilst repairing a shredder. A plant mechanic was kneeling on a conveyor belt inside the shredder when it restarted and he was thrown from the machine. He suffered a fractured right leg and left arm.

20th October 2016

Environmental services company fined £30,000

A Lancashire based environmental services company has been fined £30,000 with £4,500 in costs after a worker suffered serious injuries when his arm was crushed in a conveyor. HSE’s investigation found that no suitable and sufficient risk assessment had been carried out to identify the risks from the rollers. There was no suitable isolation process or guarding in place, and no safe system of work for cleaning the rollers

13th October 2016

Star Wars film maker fined £1.6 million for injuring Harrison Ford

The makers of Star Wars: The Force Awakens have been sentenced after failing to protect the actors and workers while on set during filming at Pinewood Studio, Slough, Buckinghamshire.

Harrison Ford suffered a broken leg and deep lacerations when he was knocked off his feet and pinned to the floor of the Millennium Falcon set, as a prop door closed on him. HSE’s investigation found that there was no automatic emergency cut off, to protect those on set, instead relying on the reactions of the prop operator(s) to bring the door to a stop