Firm left with £118,500 bill for safety failings in fatal accident

Bezier Ltd, which employs around 700 people across nine UK sites, failed to heed warnings that could have saved the life of William Aveyard, 49, Leeds Crown Court heard.

Mr Aveyard, of Shipley, Bradford, was trapped in a hand-fed press at the print site in Balne Lane, Wakefield, on May 8 2008. He died at the scene.

He had been working for the company for six months.

Mr Aveyard was using the press to cut signs printed on corrugated card. It is thought he had climbed onto the press and then laid down to remove waste following a misfeed.

He received fatal injuries when the machine activated crushing him against the fixed press.

An investigation by the Health and Safety Executive found that Bezier failed to act on the knowledge it had of a fatal incident at a separate printing company a year earlier when a worker died after being crushed in a similar hand-fed press.

Although Mr Aveyard was experienced in the print industry, Bezier failed to ensure he was adequately trained to use the machine, the court was told.

There was no written safe system of work for the machine operators to access the press and deal with misfeeds.

The company was fined £80,000 and ordered to pay costs of £38,500 after it pleaded guilty at an earlier hearing to breaching safety rules.

The Recorder of Leeds, Judge Peter Collier QC, said that the accident was “clearly forseeable”.

He said the company had failed to ensure operatives were given adequate training and there was no written safe system of work for accessing the press bed.

He added: “These failures are exemplified in that on two occasions team leaders saw Mr Aveyard either on or leaning on a platen bed when the machine had not been switched off.

“One told him not to do it that way, the other suggested it was safer to switch off the power first. However, there is no evidence of any formality in relation to giving of such advice or ensuring that it was followed thereafter.”

The judge said the company had co-operated with the investigation and had no previous prosecutions.

Mr Aveyard’s widow Patricia and daughter Helen were in court to hear the sentence.

The judge said he had read the daughter’s statement. “She speaks of the loss she and her mother have suffered, the suddenness of it and their unpreparedness for it. She describes the consequences for both of them, including the emotional, the financial and the very practical impacts his death has had upon them.

“It is a restrained, dignified and moving statement.”

The judge said the family felt bitter that the company had not learned the lessons of a previous death at printing firm, the Terry Smith Group.

“She (the daughter) also describes their natural feelings of anger and bitterness against the defendants particularly as they believe that the Terry Smith fatality should have led to the prevention of their loss.”

Health and safety inspector Andy Denison said: “The sudden – and avoidable - death of Mr Aveyard was a devastating blow for his family.

“Bezier did not act on the knowledge they had of a similar incident. The need for a safe system of work was identified at a Bezier meeting in May 2007.

“In February 2008, an external health and safety consultant prepared a risk assessment and an action plan but again, the company failed to act.

“Accessing the machine to retrieve misfeeds created a serious and foreseeable risk of death or serious injury. Bezier were fully aware of those risks before this incident and failed to implement the required controls.”

A company spokesman said: “The thoughts of everyone within Bezier continue to be with Bill’s family at this difficult time. Since this tragic event the new management team have totally overhauled all of our safety management systems.”