Two firms fined £130k after worker killed
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Two Leicestershire-based firms were fined after a worker was killed by an overturned tipper lorry
By Patric Cunnane
TWO LEICESTERSHIRE construction companies have been fined £130,000 with £40,000 costs after a worker was killed by an overturned tipper lorry.
Richard Kenny, 48, from Earl Shilton, died when the mini digger he was driving was crushed by a tipper overturning on uneven ground. The lorry was delivering 20 tonnes of aggregate to a construction site.
The accident happened on 3 October 2006 during the construction of the Waltham Centre for Pet Nutrition at Melton Mowbray. JH Hallam (Contracts) and J&H Construction were prosecuted by the Health & Safety Executive (HSE) for failing to ensure Kenny’s safety and for failing to properly plan, organise or control the tipping of bulk materials at the site. Kenny was employed by J&H Construction of Hinkley, which had been subcontracted by principal contractor JH Hallam of Oadby. Both companies pleaded guilty at Leicester Crown Court to breaches of the Health and Safety at Work Act 1974. JH Hallam was fined £80,000 with £20,000 costs; J&H Construction was fined £50,000 with £20,000 costs.
The court heard that the workplace transport risk assessment failed to properly consider tipping operations and the risks of vehicles overturning. The tipping area had not been assessed as being safe, was not sufficiently level and had been poorly prepared.
HSE carried out an investigation that found deliveries of bulk materials were made without adequate supervision, a banksman or an exclusion zone around the vehicle during tipping. Pedestrians were not kept away from vehicles while unloading.
“Workplace transport should be managed on any site,” said HSE inspector Frances Bailey. “This death could have been prevented if deliveries had been properly planned. It is well known that tipper lorries can overturn, especially on sloping or uneven ground and it is vital that people are kept at a safe distance.” Bailey added that the contractor and subcontractor failed to recognise the risk and allowed regular tipping without a banksman.
“JH Hallam should have been aware of the potential risk as it was involved in a previous incident where a skip lorry overturned on uneven ground.”