A Hampshire-based company has been fined after a roofer suffered life‑changing injuries when he fell through an unprotected loft hatch while carrying out work on a domestic property in Wimbledon.  Mark Smith had been working for Willow Services (Southern) Limited on 13 May 2024, where he was re‑roofing the house. The 41-year-old had been stripping out internal insulation within the roof space, when he stepped onto an unguarded loft hatch which had not been identified or protected.

The Health and Safety Executive (HSE) has today announced a major package of measures to protect workers from the dangers of engineered stone dust, including silicosis, a deadly-but-preventable lung disease caused by breathing in silica dust released during stone cutting.    

Andy Hazelden, 60, was employed by MM Flowers Limited at its Alconbury Weald site when the incident occurred on 4 February 2023. He had been assisting colleagues with the manual unloading of cargo from a delivery trailer during a busy period in the run-up to Valentine’s Day. 

Bristol Magistrates’ Court has fined a tree surgery company £60,000 after a worker suffered a powerful electric shock from an overhead power line, the Health and Safety Executive (HSE) announced on Tuesday (5 May).   Joshua Pocknell, who worked for Upton Specialised Tree Services, had been clearing vegetation on the A3102 when the mobile lighting tower he was using made contact with an overhead power line.

The Channel Tunnel Group Limited (CTGL, also known as Eurotunnel) has been fined £2.25M after pleading guilty to an offence under the Health and Safety at Work Act (1974), which followed an investigation and prosecution by industry regulator the Office of Rail and Road (ORR).  The incident involving an engineering surveyor, happened on 5 April 2018 at Eurotunnel’s UK terminal of the Channel Tunnel, in Folkestone. The surveyor stood at the bottom of one of the lighting masts with the Eurotunnel maintenance team that was assisting with their inspection.

A vehicle maintenance company in Worcestershire has been fined after one of its workers was crushed under a one-tonne concrete block.  The father -of-two, 35, had been working for Redditch-based BA Mobile Fleet Services Limited when the incident happened on 14 December 2023.

A manufacturing company has been fined £340,000 after an employee was seriously injured while cleaning machinery at its site in Swindon.  The 42-year-old man had been working a night shift for Tyco Electronics UK Limited at its premises on Faraday Road on 7 March 2023. He had been tasked with cleaning a machine used to manufacture pellets made from a mixture of raw materials. During the cleaning process, the worker manually raised the hydraulic ram inside the machine and opened the door. He then used his left hand to reach into the open space to clean the machine.

A waste management company in Hampshire has been prosecuted by Britain’s workplace regulator after a man had both legs amputated when he was crushed by a 15-tonne excavator.  The 24-year-old man was working for R W Waste Limited at its yard in Shedfield on 7 November 2023. The excavator, operating in the same yard, reversed over him as he was sorting waste. Both of his lower legs were later amputated and he has been unable to return to work since.

Workplace accidents remain one of the most persistent challenges facing UK businesses today. Despite advances in health and safety regulations, thousands of workers are injured every year, impacting not only individual livelihoods but also organisational productivity, reputation, and bottom lines.

An engineering firm in East Cambridgeshire 'failed to ensure the health and safety' of its employees, a government body has said.    R Palmer and Sons Limited, in Fordham, was hit with an improvement notice by the Health and Safety Executive (HSE).