It has been reported that a waste company has been fined £250,000 after one of their bin lorries ran over and killed a member of the public. The Health and Safety Executive (HSE) prosecuted the company concerned based in Sussex, after they were found to have breached health and safety laws which led to the death of a member of the public. 

 

Lewes Crown Court heard that on the 5th March 2007, the injured person was hit by a refuse vehicle as it reversed up a street in Brighton city centre at 6.20am. The driver did not realise he had struck the person concerned until her body lay about three metres in front of the vehicle. The injured person died shortly afterwards. 

 

The HSE investigation found that the driver reversed the refuse collection vehicle without a banksman (known as a reversing assistant) contrary to Team Waste’s operating policy. The vehicle also had defective CCTV at the rear and the audible reversing siren was turned off. The driver believed such alarms were prohibited before 7.00am. The waste company failed to ensure that control measures identified in their own risk assessment were put into practice. 

 

HSE’s Inspector Sharon Humphrey said, “Waste collection on public streets can be a high-risk activity if not properly planned. The law requires employers to assess the risks to its employees and members of the public. “This incident could have been prevented had simple, low cost and readily available precautions been put in place”. 

 

Detailed guidance, which is freely available from the HSE, outlines the requirements of the law and provides advice on the practical measures to take. However, some measures that could have been taken are: 

 

 

Town & Country can offer various Employment and Health and Safety solutions to assist your business staying within frameworks of legislation,  

email richard@insurance-policies.co.uk for more detail. 

August sees the office staff numbers at record levels, Jess Pope has returned from her sabbatical (12 months of travelling Australia & New Zealand) and has taken up the role of Training Manager as coinciding with her return Neusa and a second Emma have joined our expanding team. Alan Jukes as another recent staff member continues the expansion of the farm account while the two new ladies will concentrate on developing the thriving Motor Trade Account and developing the Santander Banking facilities. Town & Country now employs 15 staff at its South Molton offices and has 4 further colleagues in the Financial Services business within the same building. 

Riot (Damages) Act 1886 

 

Compensation to persons for damage by riot. 

 

(1)Where a house, shop, or building in [a police area] has been injured or destroyed, or the property therein has been injured, stolen, or destroyed, by any persons riotously and tumultuously assembled together, such compensation as hereinafter mentioned shall be paid out of [the police fund] of [the area] to any person who has sustained loss by such injury, stealing, or destruction; but in fixing the amount of such compensation regard shall be had to the conduct of the said person, whether as respects the precautions taken by him or as respects his being a party or accessory to such riotous or tumultuous assembly, or as regards any provocation offered to the persons assembled or otherwise. 

 

(2)Where any person having sustained such loss as aforesaid has received, by way of insurance or otherwise, any sum to recoup him, in whole or in part, for such loss, the compensation otherwise payable to him under this Act shall, if exceeding such sum, be reduced by the amount thereof, and in any other case shall not be paid to him, and the payer of such sum shall be entitled to compensation under this Act in respect of the sum so paid in like manner as if he had sustained the said loss, and any policy of insurance given by such payer shall continue in force as if he had made no such payment, and where such person was recouped as aforesaid otherwise than by payment of a sum, this enactment shall apply as if the value of such recoupment were a sum paid. 

Individuals and business owners caught up in the disturbances of the last couple of nights will almost certainly be covered for loss or damage to their property under their insurance policy either under the perils of theft, malicious damage or, more probably, the peril of riot. In fact, experts are already predicting that the total cost of insurance claims from the riots will be between £200m and £500m. 

 

The current law relating to riot damage allows insurers to recover some of their outlay for riot property damage claims from the local police authority but only if they lodge their claim with the relevant police force within 14 days of the riot. Therefore affected policyholders are strongly advised to contact their insurance broker without delay to ensure that they comply with their policy conditions relating to the prompt notification of riot damage claims.