Multiple skull fractures: £7000 fine
Health and Safety Executive v B & B Agricultural Sales Ltd (2013) Truro magistrates’ court, December 6.
B & B Agricultural Sales Ltd has been fined after a worker suffered multiple skull fractures.
Significant points of the case
In May 2012 Jacob Wingett, an employee of B & B, was working at the company’s site near Liskeard in Cornwall. He was fitting a number plate to the top of a tractor cab. He was standing on the cross shaft arms at the back of the tractor when he lost his balance and fell a metre to the ground. He suffered multiple skull fractures and fractured arms.
No measures had been put in place to prevent the victim falling. There was no plan for the work, no safe system of working and no suitable training or supervision.
The company was fined £7000 plus £8000 costs under section 2, HSW Act, for failing to ensure the health and safety of employees.
A spokesperson for the HSE commented after the case that falls from height are the biggest cause of workplace deaths and it is crucial that such work is properly planned, appropriately supervised and that sufficient measure are put in place to protect workers from the risks.