Company fined after man suffers horrific burns to legs

Date:

15 February 2011

Release No:

COISE/1502

O'Keefe Construction Ltd has today been fined after a teenager suffered horrific burns to his legs at its depot in Sevenoaks, Kent.

The court heard that on 26 October 2009, an 18-year-old man, who asked not to be named, was in a shed at the site, spraypainting a lighting tower. The employee used thinners in the process and inadvertently spilled some on his trousers.

When he walked across the shed to go to his locker and find a change of clothes, he walked near a gas burner which was being used to heat the workshop. His clothes caught fire and he ran outside where he was helped by colleagues who hosed him down and put out the flames.

The worker suffered burns to both legs, his left arm and his hand. He was in hospital for 16 days, six of which were spent in intensive care. Since then the employee has undergone skin grafts and has been unable to work for six months.

An investigation by the Health and Safety Executive (HSE) found the spray shed had several health and safety failings. Paint containers should have had their lids on and been stored in fire-resistant boxes. The company should also have been aware that the mixing of paint and thinners in the shed would lead to a potentially explosive atmosphere, so a gas burner with an open flame should not have been used in the same space.

The company had executed a risk assessment, but had not implemented the measures identified. A further management action plan, dated three years after the original assessment, re-iterated these measures, but they had still not been put in place at the time of the incident.

Caroline Penwill, HSE Inspector, said:

"The process of risk management involves assessing the risks that arise in the workplace and putting sensible health and safety measures in place to control them.

"In this case, the company had assessed the risks from paint spraying and had identified measures to control the risks, but had not put them in place. It is important that the findings of a risk assessment are acted upon. Had the company done so, then this terrible incident could have been prevented."

O'Keefe Construction (Greenwich) Ltd, of St Andrews House, Dreadnought Street, Greenwich, London, pleaded guilty to breaching section 2(1) of the Health and Safety at Work etc. Act 1974 at Sevenoaks Magistrates' Court today (15 February) and was fined £20,000. It was ordered to pay costs of £6,329.

Notes to editors

1. The Health and Safety Executive is Britain's national regulator for workplace health and safety. It aims to reduce work-related death, injury and ill health. It does so through research, information and advice; promoting training; new or revised regulations and codes of practice; and working with local authority partners by inspection, investigation and enforcement. www.hse.gov.uk
2. Section 2(1) of the Health and Safety at Work etc Act 1974 states: "It shall be the duty of every employer to ensure so far as is reasonably practicable, the health, safety and welfare at work of all his employees."
3. Guidance on explosive atmospheres which can occur when spray painting can be found at: http://www.hse.gov.uk/fireandexplosion/dsear.htm
4. Information on risk assessments can be found at: http://www.hse.gov.uk/risk/casestudies/index.htm

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