Latest Business Insurance News
Takeaway frowns on customer-supplied bags
A Scottish takeaway will not allow customers to use their own bags to carry their order or permit them to pack their own order, citing health and safety risks. The HSE Mythbusters Panel agreed with the takeaway’s assertion that bringing customers’ bags into the kitchen could pose a contamination risk, but concluded that there was no reason customers could not pack their own order.
Neglectful skipper jailed after diver’s death
The skipper of the boat ‘Solstice’ was sentenced to nine months in prison after he was found guilty of lax health and safety regulations that led to the death of a diver. The court found that the skipper had failed to properly assess the risks to the diver, supply adequate safety equipment, provide a standby diver in case of an emergency as well as ensure that the others on the boat were capable and knowledgeable.
Loose cows nearly trample woman to death
A Helston farmer was fined £12,000 and ordered to pay £8,885 in costs after a woman sustained life-threatening injuries caused by the farmer’s cows. The 40-year-old woman was walking along a foot trail next to an open field when the cows crossed her path, causing her to suffer two punctured lungs, broken ribs, and spinal and face fractures. The severe injuries required that the woman spend five weeks in critical care and nine weeks in hospital. In its report, the HSE found that the farmer had failed to properly assess the risks to those using the path near his cow fields.
Safety oversight leads to a worker being crushed to death
An E&M Engineering Services’ engineering boss was fined £12,000 after an employee was crushed to death. The 45-year-old welder and fabricator was unloading steel and aluminium panels when he was struck by a moving excavator and crushed between its bucket and fixed cabinet. In its investigation, the HSE found that while the engineering boss had assessed the associated risks, he had neglected to identify mechanical lifting as a hazard and, as a result, failed to implement appropriate safety procedures.
