Transport firm fined £75,000 for worker’s death

A worker died from multiple injuries when a tall stack of empty wooden pallets toppled over and landed on him.

Marcin Rogala, 29, was working at storage and distribution firm Ralph Coleman International Ltd’s premises on the Bermuda Industrial Estate in Nuneaton, when the incident took place on 9 November 2010.

Mr Rogala and his colleagues were in the year retrieving pallets, which had fallen when a pile of them collapsed. As they removed the pallets, another high stack toppled over during wet and windy conditions. His colleagues managed to jump clear but Mr Rogala was struck by the falling pallets, which each weighed 36kg. He died after sustaining multiple injuries.

The HSE investigated the incident and found there was a lack of management control over operations in the pallet yard, which had resulted in the stacks being built too high.

HSE inspector Roger Amery said: “This death was a tragedy, which could have been prevented if this company had given proper and thoughtful attention to its pallet-yard operation. Its failure to do so put other workers at risk and led to the death of Mr Rogala.”€

Approaches to managing the risks associated Musculoskeletal disorders

In this episode of the Safety & Health Podcast, we hear from Matt Birtles, Principal Ergonomics Consultant at HSE’s Science and Research Centre, about the different approaches to managing the risks associated with Musculoskeletal disorders.

Matt, an ergonomics and human factors expert, shares his thoughts on why MSDs are important, the various prevalent rates across the UK, what you can do within your own organisation and the Risk Management process surrounding MSD’s.

Listen now!