Company fined £200,000 after employee's leg amputation

A J Wells & Sons Ltd paid £200,000 plus prosecution costs

A wood-burning stove manufacturer has been fined £200,000 after an employee had to have his lower leg amputated because heavy metal sheets fell on him.

The man was working for A J Wells & Sons Ltd in Newport, Isle of Wight, on August 2023, when the incident took place.

He was moving a trolley loaded with about 30 sheets of metal, each weighing more than 20kg, when it toppled over.

Health and Safety Executive (HSE) inspector Nicola Pinckney said: "This young man will be affected by this accident for the rest of his life and has to suffer the consequences of the company's failings."

An HSE investigation found that the work was not being carried out safely.

The watchdog said the company failed to provide suitable trolleys, and that the routes throughout the factory were unclear.

There was also inadequate training for employees when it came to the safe movement of heavy materials, it said.

HSE identified a similar incident in November 2021, but the task of moving heavy sheet metal had still not been adequately risk assessed.

Ms Pinckney said: "This is a particularly unfortunate case as lessons from a previous similar incident had not been learnt.

"I hope this case serves to highlight to the industry the importance of ensuring health and safety is taken seriously and all parts of workers' employment are properly risk assessed, and risks are controlled."

A J Wells & Sons Ltd pleaded guilty to breaching Section 2 of the Health and Safety at Work Act 1974.

It was fined £200,000 at Isle of Wight Magistrates' Court and ordered to pay £9,056 in prosecution costs.