News Post
Builder goes to jail for failing to report an incident where a worker was seriously injured
A builder has been imprisoned for 24 weeks after he failed to report a serious incident at a construction site he was in charge of.
Westminster Magistrates’ Court heard that on 8 January 2019, worker Simon Lewis had been clearing a site on Clarence Avenue, New Malden with an excavator so a new house could be built. The excavator tipped while digging and it trapped Mr Lewis’ leg, resulting in an amputation.
An investigation by the Health and Safety Executive (HSE) found that Mr Lewis had no formal training for operating excavators and had requested a 3-ton model was provided for the work. However, only a smaller 1.7-ton excavator was provided, and Mr Lewis was put under pressure to use this. The incident was not reported to the HSE within ten days as required and the defendant, Paul Adams had not investigated the incident. HSE was only able to start an investigation more than eight months later when the victim complained. By this time crucial evidence relating to the cause of the incident was unobtainable and the work was almost completed.
There was no health and safety related documentation and there was no employer’s insurance cover for Mr Lewis to claim against. Mr Adams had not obtained any health and safety related training during his 50 years in the construction industry.
Paul Adams, trading as Surrey Conversions of Sutton Common Road, Sutton pleaded guilty to a breach of Regulation 3(1) of the Reporting of Injuries, Diseases and Dangerous Occurrences Regulations 2013. He received a 24-week custodial sentence and was ordered to pay costs of £2,033.
Speaking after the hearing, HSE inspector Andrew Verrall-Withers said: “This case re-enforces how important it is that incidents are reported so they can be investigated, and improvements made to prevent serious incidents in future.
“The judge noted Mr Adams had not reported the incident even when prompted to by a solicitor, and that despite his construction experience he had failed to take any interest in understanding his legal duties nor invest in health and safety.
“Mr Adams claimed in court that he had stopped working for months due to the impact of the incident. However, the evidence showed he had continued with the work.
“The judge commented on how distressing it must have been for Mr Lewis on top of his life changing injury, to know the incident was not being investigated.”
He added: “We went to great efforts to ensure Mr Adams made improvements. However, in court it was confirmed that although he had told the probation officer, he had stopped work, he was still carrying out construction work at an unidentified site despite failing a health and safety test.”
Latest News
Health and Safety in Schools Checklist
Health and safety should be a top priority in any workplace, but especially in schools. Not only are you responsible for your staff’s safety, but you need to maintain the welfare of your pupils too. To do so, you must uphold your legal complian..
It can be difficult to decide your future path - a lot can ride on it, after all - but a career in health and safety could be the right choice for you. There are several types of careers in the health and safety industry that might be a good fit..
What is ISO 45001?
If you’re wondering what ISO 45001 is, then this is the guide for you. Replacing the old OHSAS 18001 standard, ISO 45001 is the new international standard for occupational health and safety management. In this guide, we'l..
Who Enforces Health and Safety?
The enforcement of health and safety is crucial to maintain healthy workplaces. The term health and safety itself covers the safety legislation and safety law that comes under the Health and Safety at Work Act 1974. In general, this means t..
Health and safety training is a requirement in the workplace, no matter which sector you work in. Our experts at SMS Europe have been providing an extensive range of specialist health and safety services for almost 20 years. To help make work en..
Health and safety in the workplace is all about controlling risks in a way that protects both your employees and your company. Strong leadership, including your employees, managers, suppliers, contractors, and consumers, is a characteristic of great ..
Health and safety in the workplace is immeasurably important. But, without the Health and Safety at Work Act of 1974, we might have never prized safety so highly. This piece of workplace legislation is highly significant and indeed has transform..
Fire Safety and Fire Risk Assessment at Leased Offices and Buildings Fire safety at leased single and multi- tenanted offices can be approached in a number of ways. Generally speaking, there are three types of premises, (single occupancy lea..
Safety Gloves
Please have a read at SMSE Managing Director Philip Marsden's article on Safety Gloves which is published in the February 2022 edition of Health and Safety International Magazine. https://www.hsimagazine.com/article/fits-like-a-glove/ We wo..
Current Health and Safety Industry Trends
New Guidance Released for Managing Home Workers As an employer, you have the same health and safety responsibilities for those who work from home as you do for all other employees who may work from the workplace. In most cases, the dange..
Who Is Responsible for the Health and Safety on a Building Site? Legally, the responsibility of health and safety within the business lies with the employer. It is up to them to make sure the environment meets the necessary health and safety requi..
No one wants to be injured whilst at work, and no one wants their staff to be injured, especially whilst on the job. That doesn’t mean that accidents don’t happen. In fact, each year an average of 22 manufacturing workers die in workplace..