Hotel Fire Fatalities Result in £500,000 Fine for Hotel Owner and Community Sentence for the Hotel Porter

Fire safety considerations might not be at the top of your risk register priority list at the moment, in the middle of a pandemic, but this case reminds us of the importance of complying with fire safety regulations at all times, and of the potentially devastating consequences of not having proper procedures and training in place.

Whilst this is a Scottish case, the fire safety issues that arise are just as relevant in England and Wales under the Regulatory Reform (Fire Safety) Order 2005.

Chemical Manufacturing Company Fined After Employee Scalded with Boiling Water

Falkirk Sheriff Court heard that on 4 March 2016, work was undertaken to clean down part of a production plant in Grangemouth, Scotland. The cleaning process involved filling a chemical powder charging chute leading down to a reaction vessel with water that was brought to the boil by immersing a steam hose in it.

Theme Park Fined £1 Million Following Fatal Water Ride Incident

Drayton Manor Park Ltd has been sentenced following the tragic death of a schoolgirl on its Splash Canyon water ride in 2017. This is another high profile prosecution of a theme park, following the Lightwater Valley one that we reported on in our January 2021 eNews. (Follow this link to read our report).

Stafford Crown Court heard how, on the 9 May 2017, 11-year-old Evha Jannath was on a school trip when she fell out of a raft on the Splash Canyon water ride into the ride's water trough. She was able to wade to the conveyer belt at the end of the ride and climb onto it, but then fell into a section of deeper water and drowned.

Construction Company and Plastering Firm Fined After Employee Falls From Height

Two companies have been fined after a worker sustained serious injuries by falling approximately three metres through a hole cut into a floor during the refurbishment of a property in Aldeburgh, Suffolk.

Chelmsford Magistrates’ Court heard how on 27 July 2017, an employee was working as a dry liner for R&B Plastering Limited, who were contracted on the site to Robert Norman Construction Limited, the principal contractor.

The employee was working on the second floor of the property, near to a hole that had been cut into the floor to facilitate plaster board being passed up from the level below. The employee fell approximately three metres through the hole, causing him to sustain fractures to his vertebrae and ribs, and severe bruising.

Waste and Recycling Company Fined for Safety Failings

In April 2019 a 22-year-old labourer had been working at Johnsons Scrap Metal Limited, assisting in loading a 44-tonne articulated third party vehicle with waste wood. He climbed onto the truck and while standing on the load, he manually levelled some wood that had prevented the automatic roof sheet from completely covering the load.

As he was climbing back over the load to get down from the truck, the automatic sheeting device was inadvertently activated, trapping the worker's arm in the mechanism, resulting in injuries that included a broken arm, that later needed surgery to put two metal plates in place, and tendon damage.

Congratulations to Ridwaan Omar on Gaining the NEBOSH Qualification

The Regulatory Team congratulates Ridwaan Omar on gaining his NEBOSH National General Certificate on Occupational Health & Safety. Ridwaan acts on behalf of numerous organisations in defending Employers' and Public Liability insurance claims. He also has considerable experience of representing organisations during Health & Safety investigations and proceedings over the past 20 years and his appetite for regulatory work started early in his working career whilst in the criminal department.

The NEBOSH course covered topics from management of health and safety including legislation, management systems, understanding people, culture and systems of work, monitoring and measuring performance and risk assessments on common workplace risks.

ridwaan.omar@forbessolicitors.co.uk | 01254 222 399

Meet The Team

Daniel Milnes, Partner, Governance, Procurement & Information

Daniel has extensive experience in advising public and private sector clients on a wide range of contractual matters and issues relating to governance and compliance. This has involved advising on many types of commercial contracts including joint ventures, development and construction agreements, distribution, agency and intellectual property contracts including IT contracts, sponsorships and other rights licensing arrangements. This has also involved advising on debt and grant funding agreements as well as private and government funded equity investment deals.

Dan advises regularly on the legal aspects of setting up and operating different types of legal entities and structuring projects including the application of sector specific regulatory rules, charity law and company law. As the firm's Data Protection Officer Dan has a particular interest in Data Protection and other information law as it applies to all sorts of organisations and individuals.

daniel.milnes@forbessolicitors.co.uk | 0333 207 1130

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