Summary:
Woodhorn Group Limited, a green waste recycling company in West Sussex, has been fined £14,000 with £6,500 in costs after an employee, Simon Pateman, broke his leg in February 2024. Mr. Pateman fell from a compost screening machine while clearing a blockage, striking his head and trapping his leg. An investigation by the Health and Safety Executive (HSE) found the company failed to assess the risks of cleaning the machine, provide a safe system of work, and prevent access to dangerous parts, with employees able to bypass safety measures. The company pleaded guilty to breaching Section 2(1) of the Health and Safety at Work etc. Act 1974.
Analysis:
This incident underscores the critical importance of comprehensive risk assessments and robust safety procedures, especially for tasks involving work at height and machinery maintenance. The company’s failure to identify and mitigate obvious fall hazards (unguarded edges, lack of guardrails) and to ensure safety interlocks were effective for cleaning operations directly led to a preventable injury. The HSE inspector’s comment highlights that the corrective measures implemented after the incident—such as new guarded working platforms—were “reasonably practicable” and should have been in place from the outset, demonstrating a failure in proactive safety management. This prosecution serves as a reminder that employers are legally obligated to plan, supervise, and execute work at height safely, using appropriate equipment and competent personnel.
Article Link: