A digger operator has been fined £13,000 after the excavator bucket from his machine fell and fatally injured another contractor.
On 3 December 2008, Patrick Finn, who was employed by P Flannery Plant Hire, was operating the vehicle during a project to extend the Dockland Light Railway platforms at West Ham station in London. The project was a joint venture between Skanska Rail and Grant Rail.
Finn was using the digger to transport tools across the site in the vehicle’s excavator bucket, to give to carpenter Henry Sheridan. Once the digger had been unloaded, Finn extended the vehicle’s arm in the air and the excavator bucket fell and struck Mr Sheridan in the head, who died at the scene.
The HSE and the Office of Rail Regulation began a joint investigation and found Finn failed to ensure that the excavator bucket had been safely attached to the arm of the vehicle. Finn had attached the bucket to the quick hitch but did not check that both hooks from the machine’s arm were connected to the bucket.
The HSE issued a Prohibition Notice to P Flannery Plant Hire on 16 February 2009, which required the company to send Finn on a refresher-training course before he was allowed to continue operating a excavator.
Following the conclusion of the investigation, the ORR brought charges against Finn. The regulator’s deputy chief inspector of railways, Caroline Wake, said: “This was a horrific incident, which could and should have been avoided. Our investigation found that Mr Finn, despite his many years of experience and recent training, failed to follow basic safety procedures. €
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This doesn’t look like a boardroom failure though. Blame where it’s due. But I’d say the fine was a bit harsh….
Once again a ‘low level’ employee is prosecuted. I am not in any way condoning his action or working practice but it seems it is very easy to prosecute individuals as long as they don’t sit in the boardroom!!!
Once again a failure in quick hitch system. Yes operator error contributed but whilst quick hitch systems save time “hence the name quick” I would suggest the old manually methods are inherently safer.