Worker suffers life changing injury after pressure test failure
- Safety Flash
- Published on 12 December 2017
- Generated on 15 February 2026
- IMCA SF 30/17
- 1 minute read
The UK HSE advises that three companies were sentenced after an employee suffered serious fractures to his leg.
What happened?
An employee of one company was taking part in a pressure test of a boiler at the site of a second company.
A third company was assisting in the pressure test.
The injured person was there to verify the test.
What went wrong?
A valve on a pressure test rig was pressurised above the safe working limit and failed, causing the hose and metal fitting assembly to whip round, striking the employee on the right leg, causing serious compound fractures.
As a result of the incident, the injured person had his leg amputated from the knee down. The HSE’s principal inspector noted that all three companies had failed the injured person. If appropriate pressure relief had been fitted and the companies had put in place a system of work that was safe, then this person would not have been exposed to the harm he suffered.
Actions
IMCA notes that particularly close attention to responsibility for safety should be taken where different companies or organisations are working together at the same site.
Related safety flashes
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IMCA SF 12/05
30 December 2005
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