February 15, 2018

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£500k fine for workplace transport failures

A principal contractor has been fined after a worker was struck by a tipper truck.

North Staffordshire Justice Centre heard how, on 15 October 2015, a ground worker was working on the development site of over 370 houses at Burntwood Business Park.

At the time of incident there were a number of tipper trucks delivering material to the site and various ground workers were directing the drivers to different areas. The injured worker was walking along a haul road in an attempt to attract the attention of a vehicle in another area of the site when he was struck and run over by a tipper truck.

Broken bones

The worker suffered serious injuries including several broken bones in both legs and feet and severe damage to the blood vessels in his legs. His injuries resulted in him having his right leg amputated to the knee over 12 months after the incident.

The Health and Safety Executive’s investigation found that:

  • there were insufficient protected walkways across the site
  • there was no control over access to the site
  • there was an accepted practice of walking on haul roads
  • there was a lack of an up to date traffic management plan.

CDM Regulations

MV Kelly Ltd of Tyseley, Birmingham pleaded guilty to breaching Regulation 27(1) of the Construction (Design and Management) Regulations 2015. The company was fined £500,000 and ordered to pay costs of £30,000 with a victim surcharge of £120.

Speaking after the hearing, HSE inspector Katherine Blunt, said: “Incidents like this should never be allowed to take place. Construction sites should be organised in a way which prevents pedestrians and vehicles coming into contact with each other.

“This incident resulted in a worker sustaining life-changing injuries and should serve as a reminder to principal contractors of the need to properly organise construction sites to keep workers and members of the public safe.”

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