Austin Welch, instructed by Gareth Price of Forbes solicitors, represented MTL Advanced Limited, a steel engineering and manufacturing company in a prosecution brought by the HSE.
MTL was alleged to have breached section 2 of the Health and Safety at Work Act following an inspection by the HSE that revealed defects in the company’s approach to the management of the use of vibrating tools and the risk to employees of contracting hand arm vibration syndrome (HAVS).
Following the service of expert evidence by the defence, the Court accepted that the likelihood of level B harm occurring was ‘between low and medium’ and that no actual harm was caused by the defendant’s breach. The Court imposed a fine of £90,000 on the company, significantly below that which the HSE had originally suggested.
Austin Welch is a regulatory law specialist with a particular focus on health and safety cases, inquests and public inquiries. He is frequently instructed in cases involving complex technical and scientific evidence.
To instruct Austin please contact his clerk Ty Price at Tprice@LincolnHouseChambers.com