Barry Hill, 60, was operating the truck at Palletways (UK) Ltd, Fradley Distribution Park, when he noticed that one of the cabinets was rocking on the forks.
Stafford Crown Court heard Mr Hill got out of the forklift to catch the cabinet but it fell forward, hitting him on the head and knocking him to the ground. His neck and right wrist were broken and he has not worked since the incident on 22 August 2008.
After the incident Mr Hill was bleeding from a visible head wound, but the depot manager did not know who the first aiders were and took him around the site looking for help rather than leaving him in the office with a colleague.
A trained first aider assessed Mr Hill but did not recognise the seriousness of his injuries. Nobody called an ambulance and instead the first aider drove Mr Hill by car to a hospital with no accident and emergency unit, from where he was airlifted to Heartlands Hospital, Birmingham. Read More...
[ view entry ] ( 73 views ) | permalink
A global steel firm has been sentenced after two workers suffered major injuries when a warehouse door, weighing over 300 kilograms, collapsed on them.
The employees at Corus, which has since been renamed Tata Steel UK Ltd, were trying to repair a roller shutter door at its plant in Workington when the door and a supporting pillar gave way.
An investigation by the Health and Safety Executive (HSE) found the company had failed to make sure a suitable risk assessment was carried out for the work, putting the lives of its staff in danger.
Both the workers, who were maintenance fitters from Workington, suffered badly broken legs in the incident at the Curwen Road site on 20 April 2009.
Part of the falling structure also struck one of the workers, 51 year old Anthony Ryecroft, on the head, splitting his hard hat and cutting his head and shoulder. He was unable to work for 15 months as a result of his injuries.
Read More...
[ view entry ] ( 119 views ) | permalink
A Mid-Wales estate agent has been fined after an elderly maintenance contractor was killed when he fell from a roof.
Roger Jary, 79, from Welshpool was a self-employed contractor of Morris, Marshall & Poole estate agents, and was carrying out minor repairs to the carport and gutter of a rented bungalow on Little Henfaes Drive in the town.
Chester Crown Court heard that, on 10 August 2010, a plastic roof panel Mr Jary was moving across gave way and he fell around two metres from the roof of the carport to the ground below.
A Health and Safety Executive (HSE) investigation found Morris, Marshall & Poole contracted Mr Jary to carry out the repair work, but failed to ensure the work was properly planned and organised, or the contractor was competent to carry out the work.
Read More...
[ view entry ] ( 54 views ) | permalink
A Pembroke Dock construction company and its director have been prosecuted after a labourer suffered serious injuries on a construction site.
Karl Kraus, 31, from Pembroke Dock was employed by Preseli Construction & Maintenance Ltd, and was working on the build of a large domestic property at Incline Way, Saundersfoot.
The Preseli Construction & Maintenance Ltd site where the incident occurred
Haverfordwest Magistrates' Court heard that on 25 March 2010, Mr Kraus was instructed to remove a concrete block that had been placed across a doorway. As he proceeded to throw the block, he fell backwards on to the balcony and then seven metres to the ground below.
A Health and Safety Executive (HSE) investigation found that the three-storey house was being built without scaffold or any form of fall prevention.
Preseli Construction & Maintenance Ltd and its director, Mr Christopher Newell, had failed to ensure that work at height was properly planned and supervised. They also failed to ensure that it was carried out in a safe manner.
Read More...
[ view entry ] ( 77 views ) | permalink
A housebuilder has been fined £20,000 after a young boy was seriously injured when some timber roof trusses fell onto him.
The eight year old boy was playing with friends on 28 April 2009 when they got into an unsecured storage area on a construction site at Meadowbrook, Linwood, near Paisley. The development was nearing completion and the housebuilder, BDW Trading Ltd, had sold some of the finished houses and there were people living in them while work continued on the remaining homes. The young boy and his family had moved into one of these new houses.
As the children were playing in the storage area, some timber roof trusses fell onto the boy, trapping him underneath.
He was rescued by two neighbours who managed to lever the roof trusses up off him, allowing him to escape. One of the neighbours drove the boy home, and his father immediately took him to the Royal Alexandria Hospital in Paisley. However, his injuries were so serious that he was transferred to Yorkhill Children's Hospital in Glasgow.
Read More...
[ view entry ] ( 62 views ) | permalink
Calendar
