Lawford Kidd's Blog

A worker from County Durham had his hand severed while carrying out maintenance on glass cutting machinery a court heard.

The 34-year-old maintenance technician was investigating a fault on a new tilt table with a colleague. He  was on his hands and knees while trying to ascertain the cause of the fault and had activated the emergency stop.

Suspended above his right wrist was a large laminated glass sheet measuring six metres by three metres and weighing around almost a ton. The worker had his right arm extended with a mirror in his hand so he could check the status of a sensor relating to the release of the glass onto the table.

A builder has pleaded guilty to a contravention of Sections 3 and 33 (1) of the Health and Safety at Work Act 1974 at Haddington Sheriff Court, and was fined £15,000.

The builder had been contracted to rebuild the chimney on a property in Gifford but failed to ensure that it was fully cleared of any debris and masonry materials that had fallen in. The chimney was therefore still blocked when the family who lived there used the fire in the living room.

The blockage impeded the combustion process of the solid fuel fireplace, and caused the fumes from the fireplace to build up, causing an accumulation of carbon monoxide to which the three occupants of the house were exposed. A 60-year-old woman died as a result of the exposure.

A private healthcare provider managing a hospital in Ipswich has been fined for safety failings after an employee suffered a fractured kneecap.

Mrs Shelagh Allen was working in the clinic room of a ward, which was being wet-mopped by a housekeeper during the ward's busiest period. Mrs Allen went into the room after completing a patient drugs round and fell badly on her right knee causing a multiple fracture of her kneecap. Her knee was operated on at the hospital that same day and she was discharged two days later. She was fitted with a leg brace and was able to walk only with the aid of crutches for around four months.

A Health and Safety Executive (HSE) investigation found that the company had failed to ensure the safety of Mrs Allen and others whilst working in their hospital.

InjuriesBoard.ie has published a review of workplace accidents in Ireland in 2011 that shows compensation totalling €22.5million (2010: €25.1million) was awarded in respect of 830 (2010: 889 awards) personal injury workplace claims.

Accidents in the workplace accounted for 8.4% of all personal injury awards in 2011, compared to 11% of all awards in 2010. The decrease in the number of claims for workplace accidents last year reflects the reduced numbers in employment during the period.

Key findings of the review include:

• Men are twice as likely as women to receive an award for a workplace accident - accounting for 70% of all awards (2010: 75%) versus 30% of awards to women (2010: 25%). However, the number of women receiving awards has increased by 5% due to their increased presence in the workforce during the recession.
• Men received an average compensation award of €27,246 (2010: €28,924) compared to €26,771 (2010: €25,876) for women.
• Thursday is deemed the most dangerous workday while Sunday is considered the safest, due to the smaller proportion of people in the workplace at weekends.
• November is the most dangerous month for workplace accidents, while April is the safest.

Castle Point Borough Council has been fined following an incident where a seven-year old girl was trapped by a water outlet at a swimming pool.