Court Cases

Workers' acid burns lead to court for chemical firm An international chemical company has been prosecuted after three workers suffered acid burns when pipework at its plant near Southampton ruptured, sending a jet of sulphuric acid 20 metres into the air. The three men were hit by a spray of the corrosive chemical without warning when 50 year-old pipes that had been allowed to corrode finally gave way. The men were all employed by an on-site contractor at the Polimeri Europa UK Ltd chemical plant in Hythe, Southampton. Read more on the story here: http://press.hse.gov.uk/2013/workers-acid-burns-lead-to-court-for-chemical-firm/ Contractors fined after worker fell from roof A construction company and a sub-contractor from Bolton have been fined after inadequate scaffolding led to a worker falling from a roof and suffering a fractured skull and broken back. Simon Brown, 40, of Farnworth, Bolton, also suffered neck injuries and a fractured pelvis, and later had a kidney removed, after he fainted and fell eight metres at a property on Wheatfield Street, Bolton, on 26 February 2012. An investigation by the Health and Safety Executive (HSE) found the scaffolding at the rear of the house where he was working failed to protect anyone from a fall. Read more on the story here: http://press.hse.gov.uk/2013/contractors-fined-after-worker-fell-from-roof-2/?ebul=gd-cons/nov13&cr=22 St Helens healthcare firm sentenced over fatal fall A St Helens healthcare firm has been fined £170,000 for serious safety failings following the death of a worker who fell nearly six metres from scaffolding. Peter Winchurch, a self-employed joiner, had been hired to help build an extension to a semi-detached house on Bromilow Road in Skelmersdale when the incident happened on 9 November 2009. Read more on the story here: http://press.hse.gov.uk/2013/st-helens-healthcare-firm-sentenced-over-fatal-fall/?ebul=gd-cons/nov13&cr=26