Lawford Kidd's Blog

An experienced technician at a plastic products factory in Cornwall was killed after he was crushed between the plates on a machine used to make plastic lids.

The Health and Safety Executive prosecuted Curver UK Ltd (formerly Contico Europe Ltd) for failing to provide adequate safety measures.

Truro Crown Court heard that in preparing the machinery Mr O'Dwyer needed to access the plastic mouldings machine's plates. This was normally done via a guard which, when opened, prevented the machine from operating. However in this case one of the conveyors on the machine had been removed and Mr O'Dwyer was able to access the machine through an unguarded gap. Whilst he was inside the press started to operate and the plates closed crushing him at a pressure of over 1,000 tonnes.

Curver UK Ltd pleaded guilty to committing a breach of Regulation 11 (1) of the Provision and Use of Work Equipment Regulations under Section 33(1) (c) of the Health and Safety at Work Act 1974 and was fined £160,000 and ordered to pay £32,000 costs.

The Royal Bank of Scotland has been found liable for an injury sustained by a woman who slipped on a wet floor in one of its branches in Edinburgh, reports the BBC.

Patricia O'Donnell, who sustained a soft tissue injury to her ankle that left her unable to work for three weeks, was awarded £7,500 at Edinburgh Sheriff Court.

The wet floor had been caused by a leak coming from an upstairs flat. The leak had been happening for a number of months, and bank staff had tried to contain it by placing a bucket undeneath the drips.

The Scottish Law Commission has published its Report on the Criminal Liability of Partnerships.

A failed prosecution following the fatal fire at the Rosepark nursing home in 2004 highlighted a problem with the law: a partnership could not be prosecuted once it had been dissolved. The Commission's report addresses this problem and recommends that it should remain competent to prosecute a partnership during a period of five years following its dissolution.

The Report also includes a draft Bill which would give effect to its recommendations.

As the festive party season approaches the road safety charity Brake has welcomed a police crackdown on drink and drug drivers. 

Ellen Booth, Brake senior campaigns officer, said:

“We fully support this vital crackdown on deadly and selfish drink and drug drivers. Every Christmas, and indeed every week of the year, many families are confronted by the death of a loved one, or a terrible injury, caused by drivers wilfully taking these appalling risks. We urge drivers to imagine the consequences for a second and realise it’s never worth chancing your life and other people’s.”