Record of three big health and safety fines this week

Jenny Bacon, Director General of the Health and Safety Executive said:

"Three large health and safety fines imposed in the space of one week is a record. The Courts have imposed fines totalling £2.4m on three companies alone - on Tuesday £1.5m on Great Western Trains Company Limited, and £300,000 on London Underground Limited, and today £600,000 on Friskies Petcare (UK) Ltd. These fines show that the Courts really are treating health and safety offences with the seriousness they deserve. They are a clear message to all employers - it is lack of safety that costs money, not managing safety properly."

The largest health and safety fine ever imposed on a single company - £1.5m - was handed down by the Old Bailey on Tuesday to Great Western Trains Company Ltd. This followed the death of seven passengers in the rail accident at Southall, West London, on 19 September 1997.

Also on Tuesday, again at Isleworth Crown Court, London Underground Limited were fined £300,000 following the death of a passenger at Eastcote station in 1996. The death happened because there was a fifty foot blind spot on the platform and the passenger could not be seen by the train driver when she fell between the carriages.

Source:

Health & Safety Executive
30 Jul 99

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