Worker suffers broken pelvis and ankle
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PONTYPRIDD Magistrates’ Court has heard how a worker unloading scaffold materials from a flatbed truck was thrown from the vehicle and hit by its load of boards and tubes when it overturned.
Martin Sapec, 54, suffered a broken pelvis and ankle in the incident at Bryntirion, Mountain Ash, in August 2011.
The lorry was fitted with a crane operated by delivery driver Wayne Ford, who failed to extend a stabilising outrigger from the vehicle.
Because the crane was used without the extended outrigger the lorry became unstable and tipped over, throwing Sapec off.
As he landed, some of the scaffold boards and tubes from the lorry fell on top of him. Sapec has been unable to work since the incident because of his injuries.
An investigation by the Health and Safety Executive (HSE) found that Ford was responsible for the lorry, and was at fault for not using the crane and extending outrigger in the correct, safe manner.
Ford pleaded guilty to breaching Section 7(a) of the Health and Safety at Work Act 1974, was fined £1,000 and ordered to pay £1,000 in costs.
HSE inspector David Kirkpatrick said after the hearing: “Mr Sapec sustained serious injuries in this incident, and could easily have been crushed and killed by the lorry when it toppled over.
“Operators of vehicle-mounted cranes must ensure the safety of people they are working with by using the equipment in the proper manner.”