The Health and Safety Executive (HSE) has prosecuted a Derbyshire company, after a man visiting a waste site had to have his leg amputated following an accident.

In January 2008, the man was visiting the Donald Ward recycling plant at Griffin Road, Ilkeston in Derbyshire when a pile of scrap metal moved suddenly, displacing a steel girder which fell onto his legs.

The man sustained serious injuries to both legs which resulted in him having his left leg amputated just below the knee.

On Wednesday 16 December, 2009 at Southern Derbyshire Magistrates’ Court, Donald Ward Ltd of Woodville near Burton-on-Trent pleaded guilty to breaching Section 3(1) of the Health & Safety at Work Act 1974, for failing to ensure that people visiting their Ilkeston site were not exposed to health and safety risks. The company was fined £10,000, with £1,000 in costs and a £15 victim surcharge.

After the hearing, HSE Inspector Andrew Turner said that companies and individuals had a duty to ensure that hazards created by their work activities were managed ‘such that they do not put the health or safety of employees or others at risk’.

Mr Turner added:

‘This case is a graphic example of what can go wrong when these duties are not rigorously managed and it is tragic that – because of the failings outlined in court today – a young man has been so seriously injured.’

Health and safety legislation states that employers should ensure that, as far as possible, persons ‘not in their employment’ should not be exposed to risks to their health and safety.

More information about health and safety while visiting waste and recycling sites is available at http://www.hse.gov.uk/waste/index.htm.

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