Building Materials Manufacturer Fined £633,300 After Worker's Legs Crushed Between Metal Frames

A UK building materials manufacturer was fined £633,300 after a worker suffered life-changing leg crush injuries between moving one-tonne metal frames in 2022. The HSE ruled the accident preventable due to inadequate machinery guarding (faulty safety gate), unrestricted access to dangerous parts, and ignored near-miss reports despite known risks. Under the Health and Safety at Work Act 1974, employers must guard hazardous machinery effectively, investigate and act on near misses, train staff properly, and maintain up-to-date risk assessments and procedures. Failures can lead to prosecution, large fines, reputational damage, and severe worker harm. Specialist health & safety support helps prevent such incidents through risk audits, guarding upgrades, and robust incident systems. 

Reason for prosecution

Consequences for your manufacturing business

Our risk prevention processes

Strategy implementation

Legal disclaimer

Reach out to an expert

A building materials manufacturer was fined £633,300 after an employee suffered severe, life-changing injuries when his legs were crushed between moving metal frames at their Essex plant. The investigation revealed the company failed to adequately guard dangerous machinery and did not act on previous near misses, despite risk assessments indicating the need for additional controls.

To ensure your processes and protocols prevent these kinds of accidents from happening, contact one of our Health & Safety specialists for FREE, same-day assistance on 01455 858 132.

Case background

At the company's Essex plant, an employee was working when his legs became trapped between moving metal frames. He sustained severe, life-changing crush injuries. Emergency services attended the scene. The investigation later revealed that the machinery was inadequately guarded, and the company had failed to act on previous near misses, despite their own risk assessments identifying the need for better controls.

Reason for prosecution

An investigation by the Health and Safety Executive (HSE) found that the company had failed to ensure the safety of its employees. The investigation revealed several critical failures:

• Dangerous machinery was not adequately guarded, allowing access to moving parts.
• The company failed to act on previous near-miss incidents involving similar hazards.
• Existing risk assessments had identified the need for additional control measures, but these were not implemented.
• The incident was deemed entirely preventable, stemming from a lack of effective machinery guarding and a failure to properly investigate and learn from prior incidents.

The company was fined £633,300. The HSE highlighted the importance of effective machinery guarding and proper incident investigation to prevent life-changing injuries.

Consequences for your manufacturing business

If you run a manufacturing business, dangerous procedures such as inadequate machinery guarding and a failure to act on near misses could permanently damage both your company’s reputational and financial wellbeing, as well as your workers’ health and wellbeing.

In specific, the consequences of an incident like this are:

• Irreversible reputational damage.
• Client flight.
• Prosecution in a criminal court.
• Financially crippling penalties.

Our risk prevention processes

Under the Health and Safety at Work etc. Act 1974, all UK employers must ensure the safety and welfare of their workers in the workplace. If this business was a client of a specialist advisory service, our team of consultants and advisors would be available 24/7 to help understand and evaluate all risks present, before such an incident could occur.

This process would include evaluating current risk assessments and assisting with any additions required with special focus on machinery guarding and incident investigation.

This assessment would evaluate:

• Whether all dangerous parts of machinery are adequately guarded to prevent access to moving components.
• If formal training procedures existed, and if they equipped workers with the necessary skills for safe operation and interaction with machinery.
• If incident and near-miss reporting systems were up to date, centralised, and actionable (i.e., systems are in place to at once act on reported risks and/or incidents, such as previous near misses).
• All manufacturing related procedures and whether Standard Operating Procedures (SOPs) are a) sufficiently documented and b) risk-free, with a specific focus on machinery operation and maintenance.
• If on-site teams have the expertise needed to undertake work safely (i.e., not understaffed, have trained personnel on-site, etc).

The above represents only a small portion of risks that our identification and evaluation system would uncover.

Strategy implementation

In the implementation phase, we would address the identified risks by providing targeted solutions based on the outcomes of the risk identification phase.

For example:

• Ensuring all dangerous machinery is fitted with appropriate and effective guarding, regularly inspected and maintained.
• Implementing robust procedures for the reporting, investigation, and resolution of all incidents and near misses, ensuring lessons are learned and acted upon.
• Overhauling non-compliant/insufficient training related to machinery safety, including safe operating procedures and emergency stop protocols.
• Establishing clear communication channels to ensure safety concerns raised in risk assessments or by employees are immediately addressed and rectified.
• Developing and implementing comprehensive safety protocols for all machinery operations, ensuring adherence to best practices.

Legal disclaimer

The information provided above is for informational purposes only and does not constitute legal advice. It is imperative that you consult with a qualified professional or legal advisor to ensure that your organisation adheres to all relevant laws and best practices. Always prioritise the safety and wellbeing of those in your care.

Reach out to an expert

If you run a manufacturing business and you want to ensure your organisation is risk free, give one of our Health & Safety specialists a call today for FREE, same-day advisory.

Simply call 01455 858 132.