Freeclaim Solicitors: Marine Engineering Firm Charged over Death of Teenage Apprentice

A North East marine engineering firm has been fined after one of its teenage apprentices was killed by a piece of machinery that weighed almost a tonne.

Jason Burden had been working as an apprentice for Tyne Slipway & Engineering Co Ltd (TSECL) in Sunderland when he was crushed to death in December 2011.

The 19-year-old from South Shields had been working on a tunnel thruster, a heavy piece of machinery made up of a gearbox and a propeller, installed on ships to help the vessel manoeuvre.

In a hearing at Newcastle Crown Court this week, the court heard that Jason had been reassembling the 970kg machine on a work bench when it overturned and toppled over. The machine landed on his torso and left leg, causing crush injuries which eventually killed him.

An investigation by the Health and Safety Executive (HSE) found that TSECL had on formal risk assessment or safety management systems in place for working on the tunnel thruster, to ensure that it was safe for workers to work on or near.

Furthermore, the investigation found that the tunnel thruster had not been securely strapped or bolted onto the supports of the work bench, and as such, Jason’s death could have been avoided.

Newcastle Crown Court found TSECL guilty of breaching Section 2(1) of the Health and Safety at Work etc Act 1974, which states that it is “the duty of every employer to ensure, so far as is reasonably practicable, the health, safety and welfare at work of all his employees”.

The court ordered TSECL to pay a £75,000 fine, as well as nearly £48,000 in legal costs.

HSE inspector Paul Miller said of the case: “The risks associated with the maintenance of machinery must be assessed before work starts, and most take into account forces applied to the machine in order to ensure that appropriate control measures are used to guarantee the stability of the machine.”

Freeclaim Solicitors is one of the UK’s leading personal injury law firms, with many years’ experience in recovering compensation awards for clients who have been injured at work, or lost a loved one to a workplace accident.

If you have been injured in an accident at work and think you may have a case for compensation, or a loved one has been killed or seriously injured in a workplace accident and you would like to claim compensation on their behalf, get in touch with Freeclaim Solicitors today by visiting their website at http://www.freeclaim.co.uk/

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