Civilian crushed by faulty lift

The 23-year-old had returned to the flats on Cambridge Heath Road in East London, with a group of friends on 9 September 2019. When he and seven others entered the lift on the ground floor, it began to shudder and descend with the doors still open. As it began to fall, the young man attempted to exit the lift but he was crushed between the ground floor and the top of the lift. The crush injuries he sustained were so serious he eventually required a liver transplant.

Nofax Enterprises Limited had been acting as the property manager for the five-storey block flats. The investigation by the Health and Safety Executive (HSE) found that it failed to act when defects with the lift were identified by a third party, resulting in a member of the public being harmed.

Health and safety law places specific obligations on those providing, controlling and using lifting equipment. HSE has detailed guidance for how to properly manage these risks. Thorough examinations should be carried out by a competent person at six month intervals for lifts designed to lift people. When a defect is identified that poses a danger to people the lifting equipment should not be used until the defect is remedied.

Nofax Enterprises Limited of Swiss House, Beckingham Street, Tolleshunt Major, Essex, pleaded guilty to breaching Section 3(1) of the Health and Safety at Work etc. Act 1974. The company was fined £40,000 and ordered to pay £8,540 in costs at Southwark Crown Court on 22 July 2025.

HSE inspector Pippa Knott said: “As a result of this company’s failures, a young man who was simply returning from a night out with friends has suffered life-changing injuries.

“The fine imposed on Nofax Enterprises Limited should underline to everyone in property management that the courts, and HSE, take these failures extremely seriously.

“We will not hesitate to take action against companies which do not do all that they should to keep people safe.”

This HSE prosecution was brought by HSE enforcement lawyer Nathan Cook and paralegal officer David Shore.