0800 408 7848Leicestershire Companies Fined £170,000 Following A Workplace Death Incident
May 15, 2012 by NoWinNoFee Filed under News
The Leicester Crown Court has ordered two Leicestershire companies, JH Hallam Contracts Ltd, Oadby, and J&H Construction Ltd, Burbage, to pay £170,000 after a worker is killed by breaches in workplace safety. The police said, Richard Kenny, the victim, died when a 32-tonne truck bowled over and mashed his digger on a scratchy ground while he was delivering about 20 tonnes of aggregate to a building construction site. Both the firms accepted safety breaches related to this accident at work.
The 47 year old victim was working under J&H Construction Ltd who was subcontracted by J H Hallam (Contracts) Ltd to execute the groundwork’s at the construction site of the Waltham Centre for Pet Nutrition at Melton Mowbray’s Freeby Lane. The Health and Safety Executive (HSE) prosecuted both the companies for their failure to ensure the safety of their employee, and for their inability to properly program and control the tumbling of heavy materials at the worksite. Some reputable no win no fee solicitors in the UK objurgated this accident at work and praised the court for its verdict.
JH Hallam (Contracts) Ltd breached the Section 3(1) of the Health and Safety at Work Act 1974 and pleaded guilty, while J&H Construction pleaded guilty for infracting the Section 2(1) of the same act. While the former firm was fined £80,000 with £20,000 costs, the latter was ordered to pay £50,000, with £20,000 costs. John Hallam, on behalf of JH Hallam (Contracts) Ltd, promised to recruit a health and safety executive to ensure that all the possibilities of accidents are eliminated.
Robert Brown, the judge who fined the Leicester-shire firms, said that the amount of fine is very small and cannot be equated with the value of Mr. Kenny’s life. The mishap could have been prevented if the safety issues were taken into account. According to the judge, the fine is to convey the message that the court treats the breach of health and safety rules that lead to fatal accidents seriously.
Related posts: