Liverpool Crown Court heard this week how an employee of S Evans & Sons Ltd was injured. Managing director Samuel Evans was operating machinery to stack 10-tonne steel girders when one of girders dropped onto the employee’s arms, resulting in amputation of the employee’s left arm and right hand.
An investigation by the Health & Safety Executive (HSE) into the incident of 19th October 2015 found that the company had failed to use the right equipment for the task. Samuel Evans was found to be personally responsible for both the choice of equipment and the manner in which the task was performed.
S Evans & Sons Ltd of Ditton Road, Widnes, pleaded guilty to breaching Section 2(1) of the Health & Safety at Work Act 1974 and Regulation 4(3) of the Provision and Use of Work Equipment Regulations 1998. It was fined £150,000 and ordered to pay costs of £9,523.04
Samuel Evans pleaded guilty to breaching two counts of Section 37 of the Health and Safety at Work Act 1974, in relation to the company’s failing of Section 2(1) of the Health & Safety at Work Act 1974 and Regulation 4(3) of the Provision and Use of Work Equipment Regulations 1998. He was sentenced to 10 months imprisonment, suspended for two years. He was also ordered to complete 200 hours of unpaid work.
HSE inspector Rohan Lye said after the hearing: “If the company and its director had taken basic steps to decide how to do this routine task, and what control measures to use, they could have prevented this devastating incident resulting in an employee suffering life-changing injuries.”
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