This year saw extremely high fines for the likes of Network Rail, Morrisons, Serco and Transport for London. From health and safety failings and negligence, to insufficient risk assessments leading to fatalities, have a read of the major health and safety prosecutions of 2023.
In August, Network Rail was fined £1.2 million following the death of a man who was crushed while carrying out maintenance work.
Image credit: HSE
In October, a company in Birmingham was fined £1.275 million after a 26-year-old man was crushed to death during maintenance work at Mountsorrel Quarry in Leicestershire.
In December, a cider manufacturer was fined £1.4 million after a man, on his 65th birthday, was killed by the end of a security barrier.
In May, two company directors were jailed after a wall collapsed killing five men – with both firms having to pay combined fines of £1.6 million.
Also in May, two major transport companies were fined a combined total of £2.2 million after a man was killed when he was hit by a HGV in Birmingham.
Again in May, Security firm, Serco, was fined £2.25 million for health and safety failings following the death of custody officer Lorraine Barwell.
In September, a waste management firm was fined a total of £3 million following the deaths of two workers in separate incidents.
In March, Morrisons supermarket was fined £3.5 million for failing to ensure the health and safety of an epileptic employee who died after falling from a shop stairway.
In September, Network Rail was fined again, for £6.7 million following the fatal Stonehaven derailment that killed three people in 2020.
1. Transport for London fined £10m for health and safety failings in Croydon tram disasterThe highest fine came in July, where Transport for London (TfL) was fined £10 million and Tram Operations Limited (TOL) fined £4 million for health and safety failings leading to the Croydon tram disaster.
One hundred and thirty-five workers were killed in work-related incidents in Great Britain in the last year, according to HSE’s annual report.
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