Manufacturer E H Hassell & Sons Limited of Trentham, Staffordshire, United Kingdom, has been fined £300,000 plus £5,690 in costs by the UK Health and Safety Executive (HSE) following a lifting accident that left a worker seriously injured. The case was heard on 23 October 2026 at Birmingham Magistrates’ Court, a UK court of first instance for criminal cases. The company pleaded guilty there to breaching the Lifting Operations and Lifting Equipment Regulations 1998 (LOLER), the UK’s regulations for safe lifting work.
What Happened
On 24 March 2025, employees of the company were unloading a lorry trailer carrying steel components for a filtration system at the Newstead Industrial Estate in Trentham. To move a metal hopper weighing around a tonne, they used an improvised method: the forks of a forklift truck were slid under the unsecured hopper, without the lifting operation having been planned in advance. While it was being moved, the hopper slipped off the forks and struck the head of a 63-year-old worker. According to HSE, this type of lifting work was not a regular occurrence at the site.
The worker sustained fractures to the skull, neck and spine, broke two ribs, and suffered a severe wound to the forehead that had to be closed with 17 staples and 14 stitches. He was treated in hospital for three weeks and was unable to work for seven months. He has been left with permanent injuries to his face. The accident was not fatal.
Findings
HSE’s investigation found that the company had not had the lifting operation planned by a competent person, had not assessed the characteristics of the load, and had not established a safe system of work for moving the hopper. Instead, a self-devised method using a forklift truck was used. The company pleaded guilty to breaching Regulation 8(1) of LOLER, which requires employers to ensure that every lifting operation involving lifting equipment is planned by a competent person, appropriately supervised and carried out in a safe manner. HSE inspector Claire Whitehurst said the company had failed to properly plan the lifting operation or put in place a safe system of work.
Recommendations
HSE inspector Whitehurst pointed out that employers must ensure lifting operations are properly planned by a competent person and carried out safely. This reflects the three requirements of LOLER Regulation 8(1): planning by a competent person, appropriate supervision and safe execution. These requirements apply to every lifting operation, including – as in this case – tasks that do not occur regularly at a given site. In the editors’ assessment, for companies this means in practice: no improvised use of forklift trucks or other equipment for lifting work that equipment has not been assessed for, and a documented procedure established before work begins on a load – including for one-off or unexpected jobs.
Context
LOLER 1998, the regulation under which this company was prosecuted, sets out in Regulation 8(1) that an employer must ensure that every lifting operation involving lifting equipment is “properly planned by a competent person”, “appropriately supervised” and “carried out in a safe manner” – that is, properly planned by a competent person, appropriately supervised and carried out safely. This three-part requirement applies regardless of how often a lifting task occurs at a given site; the regulation makes no exception for one-off or unplanned lifting operations. For HSE professionals outside the United Kingdom, this three-part requirement – planning by a competent person, supervision and safe execution – can serve as a benchmark for their own lifting procedures, alongside the regulations that apply in their own country.
Source: HSE press release: fine for manufacturer after lifting accident causing serious injury in Trentham, 26 October 2026
Additional research: Lifting Operations and Lifting Equipment Regulations 1998, Regulation 8 (legislation.gov.uk)
