Category: Court Cases

Colwyn Bay Pier: Asbestos ‘Could Contaminate Beach’ Concerns are increasing that asbestos from the derelict Grade II-listed Colwyn Bay pier could contaminate the beach. Asbestos sheeting was used in the construction of the main pavilion in the 1930s. A report by Conwy council said the sheeting could break up if the pier was hit by […]

Houston Flood: Explosions At Arkema Chemical Plant Explosions have been heard coming from a chemical plant near the flooded US city of Houston. Emergency officials reported two blasts and black smoke issuing from the Arkema plant at Crosby. During heavy rainfall from Hurricane Harvey, the complex lost the ability to refrigerate chemical compounds that need […]

Volvo goes electric across the board Carmaker Volvo has said all new models will have an electric motor from 2019. The Chinese-owned firm, best known for its emphasis on driver safety, has become the first traditional carmaker to signal the end of the internal combustion engine. It plans to launch five fully electric models between […]

£750,000 fine for ‘reckless’ asbestos failure Some 200 workers were put at risk to the exposure of asbestos during the early demolition phase of a project, resulting in a £750,000 fine for a construction firm. The HSE carried out two investigations of working practices at a site in 2013 and 2014 while Barroerock Construction Limited […]

Tesla recalls 53,000 cars over brake issue Tesla has issued a voluntary global recall for some of its Model S and Model X cars to fix a problem with the parking brake. The electric car maker said about 2% of the 53,000 vehicles built from February to October 2016 were affected, but all of those […]

Suspended Jail Sentence For Construction Worker With ‘Staggering Disregard For Personal Safety’ A steel erector has received a suspended jail term after a member of the public photographed him balancing on scaffold tubes about 27 m off the ground and alerted the Health and Safety Executive (HSE). Manchester Magistrates’ Court was told that David Mullholland, […]

University Fined £400k After Experiment Nearly Kills Students The University of Northumbria at Newcastle has been fined after two students fell seriously ill after a miscalculation in an experiment led to them being admitted to intensive care and requiring dialysis. Newcastle Crown Court heard how students were learning about the effects of caffeine as part of […]

Look, No Hands If warm words from governments were all that was needed to fuel driverless vehicles they might be all around us. Following the launch in Britain of the Centre for Connected and Autonomous Vehicles (CCAV) in 2015, this September a new inquiry under the House of Lords’ Science and Technology Committee was announced. […]

Risk of harm, rather than simply harm itself, is increasingly the crucial factor on which the HSE and the courts are coming down hard. Recent court decisions applying the Sentencing Council Definitive Guideline for Health and Safety Offences, Corporate Manslaughter and Food Safety and Hygiene Offences have highlighted that H&S offences are concerned with failures […]

Heinz Forced to Take Their Empty Can-Tapping Advert Off The Air Amid Health And Safety Row Watchdogs have banned a TV commercial for Heinz Baked Beans on health and safety grounds. The advert showed youngsters and adults tapping out the complex rhythms of a song on empty cans. Heinz fell foul of the Advertising Standards […]