Everything contractors should know about RIDDOR

In one case, an employee was clearing a site for a new house when the 1.7-tonne excavator he was using tipped over and crushed his leg. His employer neither investigated the incident, nor reported it to the HSE. Eight months later, the employee sadly lost his leg and complained to the HSE.

The employer was prosecuted and pleaded guilty to a breach of RIDDOR Regulation 3(1) and received a 24-week custodial sentence. He was also ordered to pay £2,033 in costs.

According to HSE Inspector Andrew Verall-Withers, the judge remarked on “how distressing it must have been for Mr Lewis on top of his life-changing injury, to know the incident was not being investigated”.