Waste firm prosecuted for electrocution injury

A waste management firm has been fined £200,000 after a worker suffered burns to his face and hands when a crowbar came into contact with a live electrical conductor.

New Earth Solutions (West), trading as Mid UK Recycling, was prosecuted following the incident in 2021, in which the man moved heavy duty electrical cables with a metal crowbar on a mobile elevating working platform when the bar touched the live conductor.

It created an electrical explosion at the Lincolnshire operating centre, as well as causing the worker to fall from the platform and break his left arm, fracture his ribs and dislocate his kneecap.

An investigation found the task should not have been undertaken by the injured worker and he had not received any training with regards to electrical work.

It was not properly planned or risk assessed and the electrical cables had not been isolated before the work began.

New Earth Solutions (West), which holds a licence for a total of 146 HGVs running out of 13 depots in the East of England was fined £200,000 at Lincoln Magistrates’ Court and ordered to pay costs of £12,466.60.

HSE inspector Tim Nicholson said: “This incident could so easily have been avoided by properly planning the task, ensuring that all workers involved were suitably competent and making sure that electrical conductors were isolated before the work began.

“Companies should be aware that HSE will not hesitate to take appropriate enforcement action against those that fall below the required standards.”