Don-Bur fined after tail-lift crushes worker
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The HSE found that Don-Bur failed to formally undertake a risk assessment and provide suitable training
By Roger Brown
DON-BUR HAS been ined £14,000 after a worker was crushed when a tuckaway tail-lift closed on him.
In a Health and Safety Executive (HSE) prosecution, Stafford Magistrates’ Court was told how agency worker Mark Dimmock, 28, had been working underneath a lorry to it the tail-lift, at the trailer manufacturer’s site in Mossield Road, Stoke-on-Trent, in June 2011.
The court heard that, due to a mistake in the wiring, the lift had been directly connected to the vehicle’s motor.
This meant that when other employees turned on a portable power supply to it electrical components to the vehicle, the lift began to close in on him.
Dimmock, who had only been working for Don-Bur for one week, suffered internal bleeding, two crushed vertebrae and had to undergo surgery to remove part of his bowel. He has been able to return to work on short temporary contracts following the incident, but can only perform light duties.
Dimmock is struggling to go back to his normal job as a itter in the oil reinery business, due to the work being physically demanding, and is always likely to suffer some degree of pain and dificulty with his back.
The HSE investigation found that Don-Bur had failed to formally plan the work, undertake a risk assessment, ensure suitable systems of work were in place or provide suitable training or instructions.
Don-Bur pleaded guilty to breaching Sections 2(1) and 3(1) of the Health and Safety at Work Act 1974, and was also ordered to pay costs of £4,233.
A statement from Don-Bur said: “We can conirm there was an incident last year, which regrettably caused some injuries to a worker. The case has now been resolved. Don-Bur retains one of the best health and safety records in the industry.” After the hearing, HSE inspector Lyn Mizen said: “Dimmock suffered a horriic experience and life-changing injuries, the results of which will stay with him forever.
“The company had failed to complete a suitable and suficient risk assessment for this work activity. This would have identiied the need for simple procedural safeguards and systems of work to protect their workers. In short, this incident could easily have been avoided.” HSE statistics show that, in 2010/11, eight UK workers were killed as a result of incidents involving contact with moving machinery, and more than 1,000 others were seriously injured.
Serious consequences
The dangers of moving machinery are well known, and this case illustrates the serious consequences of failing to suitably manage and control the risks in the workplace.