FEATURE NEWS THE INCOURTS


SCHOOL TRUST FINED AFTER PUPIL INJURED


A Surrey-based Trust has been fined after part of a pupil’s finger was amputated.


The five-year-old boy, a Year 1 pupil at Danetree Primary School in Epsom, had been leaving the toilet on 15 June 2022 when his right hand slipped and went into the hinge side of a door.


There was no door guard installed and he trapped his right hand in the door.


This led to the tip of his middle finger becoming detached as his right hand was stuck in the door.


A teacher found the tip of his middle finger, and the boy underwent surgery to re-attach his finger at St Georges Hospital in Tooting, London.


Although younger pupils in Key Stage 1 were taught in a newer building where hinge guards had been fitted on the doors, the incident occurred in a separate building where the older children in Key Stage 2 were taught.


The Key Stage 1 pupils would use the Key Stage 2 building at least once a week to use its library and learn about


COMPANY PROSECUTED FOLLOWING EMPLOYEE SKULL FRACTURE


Grayshill Limited has received an £80,000 fine after an employee sustained a fractured skull at its site in Glasgow.


In addition to a fractured skull, the worker sustained a broken clavicle, a ripped earlobe and haematomas down his right side, caused by being struck by a telehandler bucket while working at Grayshill Limited on 19 October 2022.


He had been removing cattle from the back of a lorry when the telehandler bucket became detached and struck him.


A Health and Safety Executive (HSE) investigation found Grayshill Limited failed to implement a safe system of work for the use of quick hitches on the telehandler. A quick hitch is a latching device that enables, in this case, the bucket, to be connected to the arm of the telehandler and changed quickly. A manual quick hitch


music and science. While in this building, the Key Stage 1 pupils were allowed to use the toilets unsupervised.


A Health and Safety Executive (HSE) investigation into the incident found GLF Schools, the trust that runs Danetree Primary School, had failed to identify the risk to its Key Stage 1 pupils while using the toilets. This meant hinge guards were not installed on the toilet doors of the building where Key Stage 2 pupils were taught.


GLF Schools, of Picquets Way, Banstead, Surrey, pleaded guilty to breaching Section 3(1) of the Health and Safety at Work etc. Act 1974. The trust was fined £6,000 and ordered to pay £6,875.70 in costs at Staines Magistrates’ Court on 30 October 2024.


HSE principal inspector Emma Stiles said: “This little boy and his family could have been spared a lot of pain and upset if the trust had installed widely available, effective and inexpensive hinge guards on the doors the young children had access to. I would ask all schools to review their estates to make sure they have hinge guards where needed so no other children are hurt in this way when at school.”


This prosecution was brought by HSE enforcement lawyers Jayne Wilson and Jon Mack and supported by HSE paralegal officer Melissa Wardle.


requires an operator to manually insert a metal pin from the latching device to secure the attachment.


On the morning of 19 October 2022, a self-employed agricultural engineer had serviced the telehandler, which included removing the bucket but the engineer did not correctly reattach it onto the telehandler after the service was complete. The investigation found that the securing pin for the quick hitch had not been reinserted.


HSE principal inspector Hazel Dobb said: “This was a serious incident that has resulted in a worker sustaining horrific injuries. We thoroughly investigated this incident and found Grayshill Limited failed to carry out the correct control measures and safe working practices at its site in Glasgow. The company also failed to check its vehicles after they had been serviced and repaired to ensure they were safe for use.”


Grayshill Limited, of Mollins Road, Cumbernauld, Glasgow, pleaded guilty to breaching Section 2(1), Section 2(2)(a) and Section 33(1)(a) of the Health and Safety at Work etc. Act 1974. The company was fined £80,000 and ordered to pay a victim surcharge of £6,000 at Airdrie Sheriff Court on 28 October 2024.


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