This month, as part of SHP’s editorial partnership with Fieldfisher’s Health & Safety team, Beth Thompson (Associate) and Kirstie Imber (Associate) consider the successful conviction of Ward Recycling Limited, including any lessons to be learnt for businesses to take note of.
On 30 January 2020, Dean Atkinson, a 32-year-old worker at Ward Recycling Limited (“Ward Recycling”) was sadly killed returning to his workstation on the picking line when he was struck and killed by one of two loading shovels.
Credit: HSE.
The incident was reported to the Health and Safety Executive (HSE), the same day, who attended the site alongside the police. During the investigation (led by Cleveland Police and the HSE), CCTV footage covering the area where the incident happened was reviewed.
The investigation found that the safety standards were far below where they should have been with a complete absence of controls for pedestrians, such as Mr Atkinson, within the main shed area in which the loading shovels were operating.
The route taking Mr Atkinson back to his workstation emerged from behind a concrete wall into an area where the loading shovels were operating. It was a high-risk area, and the shovel operators had little opportunity to see Mr Atkinson. Other workers attempted to stop the operator; however the operator was unable to hear them over the noise of the engine and machinery.
The HSE had previously visited another site under the operation of Ward Recycling and issued enforcement measures relating to workplace transport and traffic management In addition, the owner of Ward Recycling was also the owner of the recruitment agency that employed Mr Atkinson.
Beth Thompson, Associate at Fieldfisher
Ward Recycling was charged with the offence of corporate manslaughter, and failing to discharge its general health, safety and welfare duty to an employee. The company denied all charges.
The Court heard that there were “lots of vehicles moving around, and people … had to cross the main floor of the building where the plant machines were operating”, and that Mr Atkinson was wearing a “bright orange high-visibility jacket and trousers”, as reported by Nexis Newsdesk. Despite this, the operator of the loading shovel was unable to see Mr Atkinson and struck him on the head with the shovel before crushing him beneath the machines wheels.
In January 2024, Ward Recycling was found guilty of all offences at Middlesborough Crown Court and received fines of £1.75 million for corporate manslaughter, and £400,000 for the breaches of health and safety regulations.
Reflecting on the incident, HSE Inspector Stephen Garner commented that this “tragic incident could easily have been avoided if Ward Recycling had implemented simple control measures.
“Following the incident, it took the company less than a week to put in place an alternative traffic route to protect pedestrians.
“Had this been in place before the incident, Dean Atkinson would not have lost his life. Sadly, pedestrians being struck by vehicles on waste sites has caused many fatal accidents on waste sites and the industry should be well aware of the risks.”
Kirstie Imber, Associate at Fieldfisher
This case is a stark reminder of the importance of workplace health and safety measures, and the gravity of the potential consequences when they are neglected or breached.
Finally, this case is a reminder of the severe human impact of failing to abide by health and safety legislation. This impact is not limited to employees; the lives of contractors, agency workers and third parties with no connections to the company and its operations may also be affected. While companies may be fined and penalised, it is ultimately people who end up suffering the worst consequences of an incident.
Why wasn’t a custodial sentence imposed on the MD?