Food firm ordered to pay £60k after two separate accidents at work

Published: 07/12/2012

A food ingredients firm has been told to pay in excess of £60,000 after two of its employees were severely injured in two different accidents at work.

Jas Bowman and Sons, a leading independent supplier of flour, food coating systems and ingredients to the food industry worldwide, pleaded guilty after being prosecuted for safety failings and failing to protect people working at height by the Health and Safety Executive (HSE).

The first workplace accident occurred on 7th July 2009 when a maintenance engineer fell over two metres while cleaning flour from inside an elevated conveyor, fracturing his right shoulder blade and a vertebra in his spine.

Almost a year to the day later – on 15th July 2010 – an electrical sub contractor fell down a lift shaft while carrying out maintenance work on a jammed lift door on the second floor. He fractured his skull and severed his right ear, leaving him unable to work for 18 months.

Graham Tompkins is the investigating HSE inspector:

“These were both serious incidents in their own right, but coupled together they provide a worrying picture. Lessons should have been learned from the first incident, however, the safety of workers continued to be compromised.

“This culminated with the fall of the electrical sub contractor, which was entirely preventable and should have been avoided. He could easily have been killed and I hope the severity of that incident and today’s prosecution serves as a final wake-up call.”

Content correct at time of publication