Sita UK fined £200,000 for telehandler injury
Health and Safety Executive v Sita UK Ltd (2015) Preston Crown Court, October13
Sita UK Ltd has been fined after an employee suffered serious injuries when he was struck by a telehandler.
Significant points of the case
As an employee walked across an outside plastics hand sorting area at a waste transfer station in Darwen, Lancashire, he passed behind a stationary 7.5 tonne telehandler.
The telehandler reversed, struck him and ran him over. He was hospitalised for two months.
The company had failed to provide adequate segregation between pedestrians and moving vehicles. It had identified the risks but had failed to put suitable controls in place.
The company was fined £200,000 plus £12,000 costs for a breach of section 2, HSW Act, for failing to ensure the health and safety of employees.
An HSE inspector is reported to have commented after the case that employers need to look carefully at their workplaces regularly to make sure that pedestrian routes are clearly marked and physically separated from vehicle route wherever possible.