On 29 November 2017, Alan Twatt (Potatoes) Limited asked an employee to install an electric cable through four barns at a height of approximately four metres. A potato box lifted by a forklift was used as a working platform. The worker fell approximately 2.5-3.5 metres and suffered a head injury as well as multiple fractures.
Investigating, the HSE found the potato box was inherently unsafe and should not have been used with the forklift truck in any circumstances. The company had also failed to follow their own procedures in relation to safe working at height.
Alan Twatt (Potatoes) Limited of Commerce House, South Street, Elgin, Moray pleaded guilty to breaching Section 2(1) of the Health and Safety at Work etc Act 1974 Banff and has been fined £40,000.
Speaking after the hearing HSE inspector, Norman Schouten said: “This incident could so easily have been avoided by using the correct equipment, such as a scissor lift. A potato box or other makeshift equipment is never a suitable platform for working at height.”
Why was this case prosecuted under HASAWA and not the Working at Height Regulations?