Health and Safety A Cornerstone Of Business Practice?

The importance of thorough and comprehensive health and safety policies cannot be underestimated. A recent prosecution brought by the Health and Safety Executive (HSE) highlights this vital issue.

Peter Halligan from Dovecot was sub-contracted to work on site at Sutton Hall Farm in Macclesfield as an employee of Galt Civil Engineering Ltd, operated by Director Peter Stuart.

The incident occurred on the 14 August 2008 when Mr Halligan fell to his death into an empty water storage tank 46ft deep. The manhole covering the opening of the storage tank had been removed. His colleague had left him working by the opening to collect tools and when he returned could no longer see Mr Halligan. His body was found later at the bottom of the water storage tank. Paramedics later pronounced Mr Halligan dead at the scene.

The HSE’s subsequent investigation identified defects in the firm’s health and safety procedures including failing to provide employees with a risk assessment for the job/site and failing to provide advice about working above an exposed opening. These failings were in breach of the Health and Safety at Work Act 1974.

Liverpool Crown Court found Galt Civil Engineering and its Director Peter Stuart guilty of failing to ensure the proper safety of its workers after it was admitted health and safety breaches had occurred. The company received a nominal fine of £50 and was ordered to pay prosecution costs amounting to £24,974. Mr Stuart was ordered to pay a fine of £30,000 or face 14 months imprisonment should he fail to pay the fine.

The decision only serves to highlight the failings of many firms who try to operate in breach of the law. A firm guilty of such breaches will be both negligent and in breach of statutory duty and liable for damages in a Civil Court.

If you or your family have been affected by an accident at work please feel free to contact us on 0151 236 8840 for a no obligation consultation. Our highly trained team will be able to assist you obtain the best possible results against your employers in a fast and efficient manner.

Potential claims arising from damages caused by potholes

Potholes develop when cracks in the road fill with water, which expands when it freezes. Serious road accidents can occur resulting in vehicle damage and personal injury. If your car is damaged or you are injured by a pothole, you may be able to claim compensation. Last year, local Councils paid £22.8m compensation to road users in England and Wales who suffered damage to their vehicles or themselves because of poorly maintained roads (excluding A-roads and motorways which are funded separately by highway agencies).

In 2011 the government commissioned a Potholes Review and allocated an extra £200m for local highway authorities citing a “significant increase in the number of potholes on the already fragile local highway network”.

According to Which? Magazine the backlog of road repairs in England has grown since 2009, from £53.2m to £61.3m on average per Council. For example, in the North West backlog road repairs has grown from around £25m in 2009 to £60m in 2012. However, the magazine also says that in six of the nine regions, the need for repairs has fallen since its peak in 2011. This means that whilst some regions are reducing the backlog road repairs the remaining regions are struggling and the costs of repairs will continue to increase.

If your car is damaged or you are injured by a pothole and you wish to seek compensation, you should be able to claim if you can show that the council knew about the pothole but has not repaired it, or has not followed road maintenance guidelines. Section 58 of the Highway 1980 provides councils with a statutory defence if they can show that reasonable care was taken to “secure that the part of the highway to which the action relates was not dangerous to traffic”. If the incident happened on a motorway or A-road you will need to contact the relevant highways agency and if it occurred on a private road, your claim will be against the road owner. If your claim is rejected you can refer your claim to the small claims court.

You can report potholes to your local authority and when making your report include supporting evidence such photos of the pothole and damage to your car. If your claim is rejected you can refer your claim to the small claims court.

Fury over asbestos classroom threat

The National Union of Teaches met in Liverpool on 2nd April 2013 and demanded action after the Department of Education told MPs that schools had a ‘duty to manage’ asbestos materials but they do not have a duty to remove it. Officials told the Commons Education Committee that the Government’s policy is to “contain and actively manage asbestos and for its removal to be carried out correctly and safely (for example when buildings are demolished or refurbished, or when damages means that asbestos is no longer safely contained)”.

According to the Health and Safety Executive records more than 253 teachers in Britain have died from Mesothelioma since 1980 as a result of exposure to asbestos dust during their employment at school, and asbestos exposure in schools is still an issue in 2013. On behalf of the National Union of Teachers Ian Grayson stressed there is no such thing as managing asbestos in a classroom full of active children and the only safe way to manage asbestos is to remove it.

For further information please click on the following link:

Fury over asbestos classroom threat

Changes in Florida affecting British Travellers

British travellers are being warned over an allegedly unpublicised law calling for all foreign drivers to carry an International Driving Permit (IDP) in Florida, USA. Since January 2013 travellers have been legally required to provide proof that they hold a IDP despite car hire firms, holidaymakers and the AAA (US equivalent to AA) being seemingly unaware. It is understood the law was introduced owing to the growing number of visitors’ licences that were not in English which made it difficult for the police to confirm their validity.

On 5th April 2013 the Department of Highway Safety and Motor Vehicles (DHSMV) announced it is to defer enforcement and a Bill has been introduced to repeal the law. However, British travellers are still advised to buy an IDP before travelling to Florida to ensure they are able to hire a vehicle. Furthermore, despite the DHSMV’s decision to defer enforcement it is unknown what the consequences will be if a British driver without an IDP is involved in a road traffic accident in Florida. It is presumed that the US legal system will argue the British driver does not have a valid licence and has therefore breached the law in Florida. The driver may then face imprisonment or a citation demanding a mandatory court appearance.

Cheshire based Britannia Hotels Ltd has been ordered to pay more than £200,000 in fines and costs after construction workers and guests were put at risk of asbestos exposure at a Kent Hotel.

The hotel chain failed to ensure a full asbestos assessment was undertaken before construction workers refurbished a wing of The Grand Burstin Hotel in Folkstone between February and July 2010. An asbestos surveyor was only called to the site after work began and they discovered the presence of asbestos. A licensed asbestos contractor was called in to remove the material and seal off the contaminated area to prevent fibres spreading to other parts of the hotel. However, it is possible that fibres spread to other areas still open to hotel guests.

Last week at Canterbury Crown Court, Britannia Hotels Ltd pleaded guilty to two separate breaches of the Health and Safety at Work Act 1974.

Inhaling asbestos dust can cause serious diseases such as mesothelioma, lung cancer and asbestosis however symptoms can take years to develop after exposure. Owing to this long latency period for asbestos-related diseases, it is not yet known whether any construction workers or hotel guests were directly affected, and they now face an uncertain future.

For further information please click on the following link:

Britannia Hotels Limited fined for risk of exposing to asbestos dust

Marks & Spencer was warned customers and staff may have been put at risk from asbestos contamination more than 10 years before receiving a £1m fine.

A contractor told the BBC he warned in 1998 that refurbishment work at its London Marble Arch store was breaching asbestos removal guidelines.

In 2011 the company was fined £1m over work at its Reading store.

The company said it carried out a full investigation into the Marble Arch work and no-one was put at risk.

William Wallace, who was working as a health and safety manager, wrote his letter to the then chairman of the company, Sir Richard Greenbury, after what he says were a series of breaches at the London store, recorded in the logs left between shifts.

‘Safety not guaranteed’

One report from April 1998 described how cladding had been stripped with a sledgehammer and asbestos was “everywhere” .

The nightshift workers recorded that it was the “third occasion in a week” they had had to clean up after a “dangerous occurrence”.

Later one contractor described how he should “legally report” more instances of broken asbestos being left lying around.

Mr Wallace told the BBC’s Inside Out programme: “There were minefields, asbestos minefields for the want of a better expression.

“You could not have guaranteed the safety of anybody, the workers, the staff, the customers: you could not have given a 100% guarantee that those people were safe.”

Mr Wallace said he set out his concerns in a letter to Sir Richard and three days later met senior managers and showed them copies of the log. He was promised there would be a full investigation.

Steve Rowe, a Marks & Spencer board member, said: “On the face of it these allegations sound worrying, but our team at the time 15 years ago thoroughly investigated them on the day.

“They thoroughly investigated them some three months afterwards and again I’ve spoken to those individuals and could find no case whatsoever to say any member of staff or any member of the public was put at risk.”

But in 2006 Mr Wallace said he was again concerned by what he saw – this time at the Reading store as it was being refurbished.

The Health and Safety Executive later took the company to court.

One witness who gave evidence has spoken to the BBC. He asked not to be identified for fear of being blacklisted by the building industry.

The witness – a construction worker – told the court he was overruled by Marks & Spencer managers after he ordered that fans in the ceiling void should be turned off to avoid circulating dust which might contain asbestos.

The witness told the court he returned to work to find the fans had been turned on again, on the instruction of the Marks & Spencer managers, to prevent food refrigerators overheating.

On another occasion he described how he saw dust from the ceiling falling on a shop assistant stacking sandwiches. Construction workers warned her to move.

He said: “The night manager responsible for the refilling of the shelves came and went absolutely ballistic at us, and told us that we don’t tell his staff where to go and he sent her back to go and fill the sandwich (shelves) which at that point would be covered in asbestos dust.”

Imposing the £1m fine plus costs, Judge Christopher Harvey Clark said there had been a “systemic” failure by Marks & Spencer management and its response to asbestos safety complaints was to “turn a blind eye” to what was happening because the asbestos work was “already costing the company too much”.

‘No blind eye’

The judge said that contractors, staff and shoppers “have a right to be anxious as to whether they have breathed asbestos fibre and what effect that might have on their well-being and future”.

Marks & Spencer continues to describe the judge’s comments as “disappointing”.

Mr Rowe told the BBC: “Marks & Spencer never, ever puts profit before safety.

“There wasn’t a blind eye. Our investigations were full and thorough.

“We have a very good policy which the judge described as sensible and practical.

“Implementation of the policy wasn’t good at Reading. We are very sorry about that. We regret it. So we are disappointed by the judge’s comments.”

Stores other than Marks & Spencer have also been fined for asbestos breaches, including House of Fraser in 1997 by Birmingham magistrates, Blacks in London for an incident in 2005, the Co-op, Manchester in 2007, Top Shop, Liverpool in 2008 and John Lewis, Edinburgh, also in 2008.

City Hospitals Sunderland NHS Foundation Trust has been fined after contractors were unwittingly exposed to asbestos fibres at Sunderland Eye Infirmary. Over the weekend of 24/25 March 2012 the contractors drilled through door surrounds on a ward to install cables.

The following day it was confirmed that the door surrounds were made of asbestos insulating board. Drilling the board could cause fibres to be released into the air and potentially expose the contractors, hospital staff and members of the public to asbestos fibres.

An investigation by the Health and Safety Executive (HSE) found that the Trust had an asbestos survey that showed the door surrounds contained asbestos but no information on the location or condition of any asbestos was given to the contractors.

City Hospitals Sunderland NHS Foundation Trust was find £3,000 and ordered to pay £4,582.40 in costs after pleading guilty to breaching Regulation 4(9)(c)(i) if the Control of Asbestos Regulations 2006.

For further information please click the following link: http://www.hse.gov.uk/press/2013/rnn-ne-00513.htm

The Recovery of Medical Costs for Asbestos Diseases Bill is before the Welsh Assembly and if passed it will force businesses to pay the medical costs of staff that fall ill after working with asbestos.

The Bill is opposed by the insurance industry with the Association of British Insurers (ABI) saying insurers would not have accounted for these costs decades ago, forcing them to recoup the money from current policyholders.They also argue refunding the money to the Welsh Government instead of specific parts of the NHS “creates further complexity” and the Bill fails to provide how the money raised would help asbestos sufferers.

Furthermore, whilst they recognise the Assembly’s power over health policy the ABI say the Assembly lacks the power to change the law.

For further information please click the following link: http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/uk-wales-politics-21029535

Two asbestos surveyors have appeared in court after construction workers were exposed to potentially-deadly fibres during the refurbishment of a Trafford pub.

David Harold and Shaun Hodgson were prosecuted by the Health and Safety Executive (HSE) after they failed to identify the presence of asbestos at 32 different locations in the former Sale Hotel on Marsland Road in Sale.

Trafford Magistrates’ Court was told today (21 December 2012) that Mr Harold, 49, and Mr Hodgson, 32, were hired to carry out a full asbestos survey at the disused pub ahead of a major refurbishment project to bring it back into use.

They produced a report following a visit to the site on 31 May 2011, which was used by the principal contractor to identify which areas were safe to refurbish and which required a licensed company to remove asbestos before any work could take place.

However, the report failed to identify large amounts of asbestos in the basement. As a result, workers were exposed to potentially-deadly fibres as they carried out refurbishment work, installed pipes and fitted cabling.

The company overseeing the project immediately stopped the refurbishment work and brought in a specialist firm when one of its employees raised concerns that additional unidentified asbestos may be present in the basement.

The asbestos insulation material was not hidden, and was easily spotted in the second survey.

David Harold, of Balmoral Drive in Beverley, East Yorkshire, and Shaun Hodgson, of Sherbourne Cottages in Newton upon Derwent, York, each pleaded guilty to a breach of the Health and Safety at Work etc Act 1974 after they put the health of workers at risk.

They were each ordered to carry out 40 hours of community service in the next year and to each pay £1,500 towards the cost of the prosecution.

Speaking after the hearing, HSE Inspector Matt Greenly said:

“Asbestos consultants and surveyors perform a vitally important role in the construction industry and are relied on to keep workers safe.

“Construction companies trust their expert opinions to help prevent workers from being exposed to asbestos fibres. It’s therefore essential that they do not take their minds off the job when carrying out asbestos surveys.

“Sadly Mr Harold and Mr Hodgson’s work fell way below acceptable standards, despite them being well trained and seemingly experienced asbestos surveyors.

“It is hard to understand how they could have missed so much asbestos material during their survey when it was so plainly obvious to others.”

Asbestos insulation was commonly used up until the 1980s to help insulate pipes and structural steel within buildings. This insulation can become highly dangerous if it is unsealed or disturbed and asbestos fibres are released into the air.

Fibres that are breathed in can become lodged in the lungs or digestive tract, and may lead to lung cancer or other diseases if large numbers of fibres are inhaled. However, symptoms may not appear for several decades.

Around 4,000 people die every year as a result of breathing in asbestos fibres, making it the biggest single cause of work-related deaths in the UK. Information on how to work safely with asbestos is available at www.hse.gov.uk/asbestos.

Enterprise Minister Arlene Foster has said she hopes a World War I cruiser which has been docked in Belfast since 1923 can be turned into a floating museum.

HMS Caroline is the last survivor of the 1916 Battle of Jutland.

It has been given a £1m grant for urgent repairs.

The work will include making the ship wind and water tight and incorporate the removal of dangerous asbestos while the ship is afloat.

The grant has been awarded to the National Museum of the Royal Navy (NMRN) by the National Heritage Memorial Fund .

Ms Foster said the funding marked the beginning of a two-stage rescue plan.

“The second stage will be driven by a funding application to the Heritage Lottery Fund to restore and preserve HMS Caroline,” she said.

“Our ultimate aim is to transform the ship into a world-class floating museum in time for the Battle of Jutland centenary in 2016, as I believe HMS Caroline has huge potential as a visitor experience.”

A light cruiser, weighing 3,750 tons and 446ft long, the ship was technologically ground-breaking when built.

Its maximum speed of close to 30 knots enabled the British Navy to respond to the increasing threat of long-range torpedo attack on battleships, locating the enemy fleet ahead of the Battle of Jutland and then rapidly carrying news back to the British battleships.

When the war ended it became a static training ship based at Alexandra Dock in Belfast.

During World War II, HMS Caroline was back in action, acting as a key base for operations to protect the North Atlantic convoys from U-boat attacks.

In 1945, it returned to its role as a static drill ship in Belfast until decommissioned in 2011, making it the longest ship in commission in the British Navy after HMS Victory. 

Article courtesy of www.bbc.co.uk/news