Pressure group Families Against Corporate Killers (FACK) has slammed a major construction firm for failing to put “very basic” measures in place to protect a worker who suffered fatal head injuries.
Steven Allen, 23, was part of a team employed by JN Bentley Ltd that was moving cement bags at a construction site in Manningham, when the incident took place in March 2007.
The company had been contracted to build a recycling centre for Bradford Council. The workers attached a block grab to an excavator to move the cement bags, which were stacked on a pallet. While they were moving the load the bags fell two metres to the ground, but the pallet remained in the jaws of the grab. The pallet pivoted and when Mr Allen pulled it free the grab’s jaws dropped and clamped around his head. He suffered massive crush injuries to his head and died in hospital the next day.
An investigation carried out by the HSE found that the grab was being used against the manufacturer’s instructions and it was not suitable for the job. The device is designed to lift rectangular loads, which are strapped together, such as a pack of bricks.
HSE Principal Inspector Dave Redman said: “The firm made a fundamental error by using a block grab to lift and move pallets and this resulted in the tragic death of a young man. This use was very clearly advised against by the manufacturer and the company should have understood the risks.
“Nevertheless, they allowed machinery to be used on their site which was totally unsuitable for the task. No assessment was made regarding the use of the grab and no instructions were given to the men who were operating it. Planning to make sure that work is carried out safely is not a formality, or a tick-box exercise but is crucial to identifying and controlling risks.”
JN Bentley appeared at Bradford Crown Court on 27 January, after pleading guilty at an earlier hearing to breaching s2(1) of the HSWA 1974. It was fined £106,250 and ordered to pay £90,000 in costs.
After the hearing a spokesman from FACK said: “None of the very basic, reasonably practicable measures were in place, and Steven’s death would have been prevented if a block grab was not being used for a purpose the manual prohibited.
“The judgement leaves no doubt that JN Bentley’s law-breaking caused Steven’s death, and utterly rejected the defence’s attempts to put the blame on to him. Nothing can bring back Steven, a sorely-missed young man of great potential, whose family have to live the life sentence without him.
“It’s essential that other construction workers are protected from such needless risk of death or injury, and that all construction employers note the judgement and take action to ensure they use the right equipment and plan safe lifting operations on site.”
Nobody from JN Bentley was available for comment when SHP contacted the company.
