A manufacturer has been fined £293,000 after an employee was killed by a plastic part which hit him at 81mph in speed.
Features
Nylacast fined £293k after flying part kills worker
By
on 01 February 2019
A 52-year-old employee of Nylacast Limited had been removing a cast plastic rod from a casting machine. The rod was secured by a pressurised piston, which should have been depressurised before the rod was removed.
As the employee went to remove the part, the metal retaining end cap and rod were forcibly ejected, with the rod hitting him in the chest. He died the next day in a hospital from a heart attack due to his injuries, according to the Leicestershire Live website which reported on the case at court. The worker had suffered a “blunt force impact” from the flying part, which cracked his breast bone and jaw.
HSE found the company failed to undertake a suitable and sufficient assessment of the long length rod machine in order to ensure that all foreseeable hazards had been identified.
Nylacast Limited of Thurmaston Boulevard, Leicester, was fined for breaching regulation 3 of the Management of Health and Safety at Work Regulations 1999 and Regulation 12 of the Provision and Use of Work Equipment Regulations 1998.
The company was fined with costs of £10,205.61 at Leicester Magistrates’ Court in December 2018.
Investigating HSE inspector Alex Nayar said “Those in control of work equipment have a responsibility to undertake a suitably robust assessment in order to ensure that all foreseeable hazards have been identified.
“Had this hazard been identified, suitable engineering controls could have been devised and implemented to minimise the risk, therefore this death could have been prevented.”
FEATURES
Cultivating positive relationships across neuro-differences and harnessing the power of inclusion in the workplace
By Grant Tickle and Dr Audrey Fleming British Safety Council on 01 May 2026
Neurodivergent people can sometimes struggle to achieve their full potential at work, but simple changes to recruitment practices, work arrangements and wider workforce education can create an inclusive environment where they flourish.
The hybrid working playbook: what to do, what to avoid, and why evidence matters
By Tess Lanning, Timewise on 30 April 2026
Research shows hybrid working delivers measurable gains in workforce inclusion, satisfaction and retention, but it’s crucial employers embed flexible working arrangements in ways that support performance, fairness and sustainable organisational culture.
From policy to practice: Delivering ‘good work’ under the Employment Rights Act
By Belinda Liversedge on 30 April 2026
It’s curtain up on the Employment Rights Act, the Government’s new blueprint for good work and the biggest reform of workers’ rights in a generation. Who better to steer us through the changes and what they mean for workplaces than British Safety Council’s head of HR, Menaka Gamage?