News

Fine for Construction Company After Vulnerable Pensioner Drowned

A construction company has been fined over the death of an 83-year-old man who walked onto an unsecured construction site in the Scottish town of Kirkcaldy and fell into a flooded excavation. The victim, who was named as John Philbin, had the onset of dementia. Kirkcaldy Sheriff Court was told...

Tesla Factory Injuries Must Be Reported “Without Exception”

Tesla CEO Elon Musk has reportedly sent a company-wide email, emphasizing the importance of safety within the Tesla factory in Fremont, California. “Going Forward, I’ve asked that every injury be reported directly to me, without exception”, Musk stated in an email according to a post on the Model 3 Owners Club Facebook page. Tesla’s...

An Interview with Courtley’s Jyssica Murphy

The Occupational Safety and Health Consultants Registered recently interviewed our very own Jyssica Murphy. Here, she discusses her background and experience in health and safety, read what she reported below.. Hello Jyssica! Tell us about your background and how you ended up in health and safety. I left school at...

Mears & Beards

Construction firm Mears has stipulated that any workers who are required to wear a tight fitting respirator must be clean shaven! Outsourced housing maintenance company Mears issued the advice to workers during a “tool box talk” in Tower Hamlets. The company says it requires all workers to be clean shaven in...

Hamerton Zoo Keeper Dies in ‘Freak Tiger Accident’

The mother of a zookeeper killed by one of her tigers has paid tribute to her daughter - saying she died doing "what she has always loved". Rosa King, 33, was mauled to death in a "freak accident" after the animal entered the enclosure she was in. Those who knew...

Workplace Absence Due to Mental Health Problems “Almost as Common as Colds and Bugs”

Analysis of sick pay data from ECIS, in support of BUPA's Healthy Minds month in May, shows mental health as one of the top three reasons for employee absence (13%), after musculoskeletal conditions (48%) and general sickness, colds and bugs (15%). In stark contrast, the number of claims for the...

NHS Trust Found Guilty After Patient was Impaled

A hospital trust faces a fine after a jury found it guilty of health and safety breaches following the death of a patient at Pilgrim Hospital in Boston. United Lincolnshire Hospitals NHS Trust was prosecuted following an incident in July 2012 when patient John Biggadike died after suffering “catastrophic” internal...

One Worker Injured “Every Week” On Aberdeen Bypass

More than 100 workers have been injured during the construction of the north-east’s long-awaited £745 million bypass. The Press and Journal can reveal that on average at least one labourer a week has been hurt since the commencement of the Aberdeen Western Peripheral Route (AWPR) project. Last night fears were...

Safety in the Sun

Today, the risk of getting skin cancer from sun exposure is well known and widely understood. We hear about it in the media and we see the marketing associated with sun creams and other products, almost universally aimed at consumers in the holiday, sport and leisure markets. But still people...

Hostel Hit with £44k Court Bill After Sending Workers into Toxic ‘Asbestos Minefield’

A ‘minefield’ of asbestos risk confronted construction workers at a Northern Quarter hostel, a health and safety prosecution has heard. Directors of Hatters Hostel Ltd, the company behind Hatters Hostel on Newton Street, have been hit with fines and court costs of over £44,000. Manchester Crown Court heard workers could...

Work Related Lung Disease and Deaths in UK Construction

Exposures at work are a major cause of lung disease in the UK. The risks from working in construction are greater than for any other sector. The UK construction sector has the largest number of reported cases of occupational lung disease of any industrial sector. Some of the most common...

Trump: Silencing OSHA and Deregulation

When something goes wrong with regards to health and safety in the UK, the Health and Safety Executive (HSE) will report on it. They issue press releases detailing the levels of fines, who was involved and steps taken to ensure that it doesn’t happen again. In the USA, the Occupational...

National Campaign Launched to Help Tackle Illegal Working in Construction

The national campaign ‘Spotlight on…illegal workers’ has been launched by the Considerate Constructors Scheme. The Scheme – which makes around 18,000 monitoring visits to construction sites, companies and suppliers every year – surveyed the industry in December 2016 to gauge the issue of illegal working in construction. The survey revealed:...

Three Jailed For Roof Fall Death in Ramsbottom

Three company bosses have been jailed following the death of a man who fell from a roof he was working on. Ben Edge, 25, was working without safety equipment in windy conditions in a quarry in Ramsbottom, Greater Manchester in 2014. Christopher and Robert Brown, who admitted trying to cover...