Waste Firm Slapped with £260k Fine After Worker Crushed in Shocking Accident
Worker’s Life Shattered in Maintenance Horror
Cappagh Public Works Limited, a London-based waste and recycling firm, has been hit with a hefty £260,000 fine following a horrendous workplace accident. On 11 September 2020, at Riverside Road, Wimbledon, employee Grzegorz Poreba, 48, suffered brutal crush injuries while repairing a waste sorting machine.
During maintenance, the machine was accidentally switched on because it wasn’t properly isolated from its energy source. Mr Poreba got trapped between a conveyor belt and a metal bridge. The force of the accident left him with severe injuries requiring multiple surgeries—23 screws and two plates were needed to keep him together.
Victim Opens Up on Life-Changing Pain
Since the incident, Mr Poreba has been unable to return to work. He revealed the devastating impact, saying:
“The whole accident has turned my life upside down. I cannot walk or stand for longer than an hour and a half. It has been very hard. If I could turn back time, I could only wish that the accident had never happened. The doctors have been trying to regain my physical and mental health. The only success so far is that I am not in a wheelchair.”
Safety Failures Exposed by HSE Investigation
An investigation by the Health and Safety Executive (HSE) uncovered glaring safety breaches. Cappagh Public Works failed to provide a working isolator switch to cut off energy during repairs—the critical safety device was broken. Plus, there was no formal maintenance system in place for the machinery.
The company pleaded guilty to breaching Section 2(1) of the Health and Safety at Work etc Act 1974. At Wimbledon Magistrates’ Court on 20 October 2023, they were fined £260,000 and ordered to pay £4,358 in costs.
HSE Issues Stern Warning to Waste Industry
HSE inspector Pippa Knott said:
“The fine imposed should underline to everyone in the waste industry that the courts, and HSE, take a failure to ensure that maintenance work is completed safely extremely seriously. Grzegorz is lucky to be alive, and the incident has left a lasting impression on him. We will not hesitate to take action against companies that do not do all that they should to keep people safe.”
This tragedy serves as a brutal reminder: workplace safety can’t be ignored. Companies must step up or face heavy penalties – and worse, lives at risk.
