Company fined after fatal work accident

A firm has been fined after a fatal work accident which saw a gas cylinder explode.

Uxbridge Magistrates Court heard Oak Farm Gas Company Ltd, trading as Mr Fizz, admit to breaching Section 3(1) of the Health and Safety at Work etc Act 1974, as well as Regulations 4(3) and 8(1) of the Provision and Use of Work Equipment Regulations 1998.

As a result, the firm was fined £90,000 and instructed to pay £50,000 in costs.

Oak Farm Gas Company Ltd supplies nitrogen, carbon dioxide and gas mixtures for licensed trade drink dispensers.

The fatal work injury happened in New Denham, Buckinghamshire, when employee Kerry Daly was dealing with a gas cylinder brought to him by Maurice Kelly from an East London pub.

Mr Daly was told not to fill the cylinder by a colleague in a telephone conversation, as the valve fittings on it did not correspond to those on the high-pressure filling station.

However, Mr Daly still tried to do so, which resulted in the gas cylinder exploding and him being left with a fatal work injury, while Mr Kelly was also hurt.

"This incident was completely preventable. If sufficient training and instruction had been given then Kerry Daly’s death would not have happened and Maurice Kelly would not have suffered life-changing injuries," health and safety executive inspector Will Pascoe said.

Recently, HJ Heinz Company Ltd was found to have committed two health and safety breaches at Manchester Minshull Street Crown Court after one of its workers was injured.

Published by Hannah Carr