Health and Safety Audit, Cleaning Firm Fined for Death
A cleaning company has been fined now that the court proceedings into a death case have occurred. A hospital porter died because of an industrial waste compactor. The compactor is located in Bolton at the hospital. The worker died when the lid on the container slammed down onto his neck, breaking it. The incident occurred in 2006 at Bolton Hospital.
ISS Mediclean has been prosecuted as the company at fault for the incident after the HSE examined the container and conducted several health and safety audits at the hospital and cleaning company. It was found that the company allowed their porters to load the compactor in a manner that was definitely not safe. The company was apparently aware of what was going on but did nothing about the risks such as offer proper health and safety training or change how the compactor could be loaded in a safer manner.
The worker was 58 at the time of his death. He was collecting waste cardboard around the hospital when he apparently went to the compactor to throw it out. A co-worker found him later with his head and arms under the lid of the compactor. The worker most likely leaned over the waste compactor and accidentally leaned against the lever causing the lid to close on top of him. The compactor should be loaded from the front rather than the side where the worker was found. The issue has been resolved with a massive fine and correction to training.
