£70,000 Fine for Lincolnshire Scrap Metal Company after Worker Injured

Overview of incident

A scrap metal dealer in Lincolnshire has received a fine of £70,000 for safety breaches after a worker fell from a conveyor belt.

The injured person was a 49 year old worker who was carry out maintenance on a conveyor belt, which reactivated. The IP fell onto scrap metal below the conveyor and ending on the concrete floor causing broken ribs.

The resulting investigation by the Health and Safety Executive (HSE) found the conveyor belt had not been isolated and therefore reactivated when the main power was switched on.

Details of fine

Following a guilty plea to breaching the Health and Safety at Work Act, BW Riddle were handed the fine and also ordered to pay £18,000 in costs.

Injured Person(s)

49 year old employee

Company Involved

BW Riddle

Location

Bourne, Lincolnshire, England

Court

Lincoln Crown Court

Quotes

It is clear that while BW Riddle had complied with previous enforcement action, the firm neglected safety again and again, and disregarded lessons that should have been learned from previous HSE interventions. – HSE inspector Neil Ward

The company has taken this accident extremely seriously and accepts by way of its plea of guilty that there were failings in the way it managed health and safety at its Bourne site.

The company has always taken health and safety seriously but as a result of the accident has undertaken a comprehensive review of its health and safety systems. This is an ongoing process. – Spokesperson from BW Riddle