A case has finally been settled with a £133,000 fine after the death of a man in 2008.

John Smith had worked at Railcare Ltd for 30 years when he was tragically killed whilst cleaning an axle. After investigation it became apparent that there was a substantial lack of safety precautions and no risk assessment for this particular use of the lathe. Due to the machines age of 25 years, it meant that it came with no interlocking guarding, however there was separate guarding, which could have, and should have been used to protect the user.

Not only had there been no risk assessment for this use of the lathe, but also the lack of guard on the lathe chuck had not been flagged through health and safety processes at the factory. Lathes are notoriously dangerous and every safety precaution possible should be enforced while using them.

Railcare pleaded guilty to the failure of carrying out a sufficient risk assessment, failure to implement a safe system to work the lathe and failing to provide accurate training and safety supervision of the lathe. Although the company had safety procedures on paper, there were no floor supervisors to ensure these practises were being put in place.

Unfortunately due to the lack of care and attention to the health and safety of the company, a man tragically, and needlessly lost his life.

Cowboy tradesmen seem to have become and increasingly prevalent issue. Illegally performing a service to homeowners, which in one way or another can leave them at risk of injury or death.

This is precisely what happened to a homeowner in Cheltenham over the Christmas period, which sought the services of Mr Clark, a self-employed gas engineer to install a new central heating system. What they were unaware of at the time was that Mr Clark was no longer registered with the Gas Safe Register, whose license had expired in 2010 and so was working illegally, and potentially dangerously.

Mr Clark’s dishonesty was discovered after the homeowner found a gas leak, and after attempting to contact Mr Clark to come to fix the leak and provide the paperwork to no avail, had to contact the Gas Safe Register to come and check the work. Indeed a leak was discovered, which if left could have caused a fatal accident and Mr Clark’s authority to perform such a service was investigated.

Fortunately our awareness of cowboy traders is growing, and it is down to the homeowner’s proactive actions that any danger was prevented. All homeowners should ask to see the relevant licenses and paperwork to ensure they are fully licensed.

Mr Clark pleaded guilty and was fined £16,000 with £800 costs for breaching Gas Safety Regulations.