UK feed firm director must pay £75,000 penalty over worker death

By Jane Byrne

- Last updated on GMT

There were 142 workers fatally injured in the UK in 2014-15, reported the HSE  [pic: (c) istock.com]
There were 142 workers fatally injured in the UK in 2014-15, reported the HSE [pic: (c) istock.com]

Related tags Occupational safety and health

A director of a UK feed manufacturer, Protein Feeds Ltd, has been fined £75,000 ($113k) over the death of an employee.

Neville Bloss, a driver for the cattle feed supplier, which is based in Suffolk, died after he was hit by a JCB driven by director Adrian Herrmann, heard Norwich Crown Court.

The court was told Bloss, who was aged 53, had been taking samples of animal feed when the accident happened and he died at the scene on December 19, 2011 from crush injuries to his chest.

The UK’s Crown Prosecution Service (CPS) brought the case to court following an investigation by worker safety agency, the Health and Safety Executive (HSE).

Protein Feeds had been charged with breaching health and safety regulations by not ensuring the safety of its employees. 

The company admitted health and safety violations part way through the trial.

Herrmann, 56, of Old Station Road, Halesworth, was also found guilty by a jury of perverting the course of justice by trying to cover up poor working practises by providing falsified documents - a charge he had denied.

Herrmann and Protein Foods were each fined £75,000.

Herrmann was given a 12-month prison sentence suspended for two years. He must also observe a four-month curfew between 8.30pm and 6.15am. He was ordered to pay £5,600 costs.

Protein Foods must also pay £37,066 in costs.

Worker fatalities in the UK

There were 142 workers fatally injured in the UK in 2014-15, reported the HSE in its latest statistical publication​.

The Executive said that is equivalent to a rate of fatal injury of 0.46 per 100,000 workers.

Of the main industrial sectors, construction, agriculture, and waste have the highest rates of worker fatality, noted the HSE. These sectors accounted for 35, 33, and 5 fatal injuries to workers, respectively.

Over the latest 20-year time period there has been a downward trend in the rate of fatal injury, although more recently, since 2008-09, the trend is less clear, found the report.

For injuries, agriculture, forestry and fishing, construction, accommodation and food service activities, transport and storage, and manufacturing had statistically significantly higher rates than for all industries, revealed the publication.

Related topics Regulation Europe Safety

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