Suspended sentence
Page 19
If you've noticed an error in this article please click here to report it so we can fix it.
after death of driver
A loading shovel driver is sentenced after he reversed his vehicle into a trailer, crushing its driver By Roger Brown Operator: Waste Recycling Group Matter: Health and safety Hearing: Cambridge Magistrates' Court
THE DRIVER of a loading shovel has received a suspended prison sentence after he reversed his vehicle into a lorry trailer at a waste site, killing its driver.
In a Health and Safety Executive (HSE) prosecution, Cambridge Magistrates' Court was told how Kenneth Miller, an employee of Waste Recycling Group, had been helping LGV driver Mark Nyland, 34, dump the waste from his trailer at the Milton Landfill Site in Milton, Cambridgeshire, in January 2012. Miller then towed the trailer to a "safe area" of the site so that Nyland could sweep out the back and tail bar area of waste and debris.
Miller then returned to using the loading shovel to level off the ruts in the ground using the bucket of the loader in a series of forward and reverse movements. But as he pulled backwards at an angle, the tracked loader crushed Nyland against the back of the trailer as he was closing its doors, causing fatal injuries.
The HSE found that Miller had failed to take reasonable care while operating a large and potentially dangerous vehicle. He was sentenced to 24 weeks in prison, suspended for two years, and ordered to pay a contribution towards costs of £600 after admitting a breach of the Health and Safety at Work Act 1974.
He will also be tagged with a home curfew between 10pm and 6am for three months.
After the hearing, HSE inspector Roxanne Barker said it had been an "entirely preventable tragedy" that had devastated Nyland's partner, parents and family.
She added: "HSE took the rather unusual decision in this case to prosecute an individual rather than a company, because it was clear that Miller had totally failed to take the care that was necessary when operating a large vehicle on a busy waste site.
"Reversing vehicles have been the cause of many fatalities in workplaces over the years and the risks are well known in industry, and obviously companies have a duty to assess risks and implement safety precautions for their sites.
"But equally, employees have a duty to take reasonable care for the safety of others, particularly when they are operating dangerous machinery." Summing up
In many cases, the HSE hands out large fines to firms that breach health and safety rules. In this case, it successfully prosecuted a worker who breached his duty to take reasonable care for the safety of another person.