Crush injuries: haulage company fined £100,000
Health and Safety Executive v Maxi Haulage Limited (2017) Warwick Crown Court, July 10
Statutory reference: s.2 of the Health and Safety at Work, etc., Act 1974 (HSWA)
Maxi Haulage Limited has been fined following an incident in which a trailer load fell onto a worker.
The facts
· In February 2015 an employee of the company was working at its site in Warwick. A piece of metal which weighed 28kg and was six metres long fell from the tope of a double-decked trailer and struck him on the head. He suffered life-changing injuries including a fractured skull.
· The site had not implemented systems and procedures for the unloading of trailers. Workers had not been properly informed about pedestrian and vehicle segregation rules.
The decision
The company was fined £100,000 plus £53,000 costs under s.2 of HSWA.
An HSE inspector commented after the case that the incident could easily have been prevented by simply implementing suitable control measures and safe working practices. The company had identified and implemented the necessary measures after the event.