A Norfolk chicken-processing firm has been fined after one of its employees broke his back in fall from a ladder that should never have been used for the job in the first place.
Magistrates heard that on 24 July 2010, factory worker Peter Sherwood, 61, from Lowestoft, had been taken from his usual duties and was assisting engineering staff in closing off a void above ceiling height in the Diss, Norfolk, factory of Crown Chicken in order to prevent steam from getting into the factory.
Mr Sherwood had been lifting some one-metre-long cladding boards up an unsecured ladder, when it slipped from under him as he moved up and down it, causing him to fall 2.5 metres to the concrete floor.
He broke several vertebrae in his lower spine, and was forced to wear a back brace and stay off work for six months. He has since returned to work, but is only able to carry out light duties.
HSE inspector Saffron Turnell, who investigated and prosecuted the incident, told SHP: “The ladder was not secured in any way. It was not footed, or tied in and was also not the most suitable piece of equipment for the job.”
Inspector Turnell said there had been a catalogue of supervisory failings. “Mr Sherwood should not have been released to do that sort of job,” she remarked. “His supervisor did not make sufficient enquiries as to what sort of work he would be doing and assumed it would be general tidying up and removing waste items from the area.
“In addition, the supervisor was not aware of the actual task at hand. The company had not passed on any information about the risk assessment to Mr Sherwood, and had not told him that a scissor lift would have been the most appropriate piece of equipment for the job.”
On 10 November, Crown Chicken pleaded guilty at Lowestoft Magistrates’ Court to breaching s2(1) of HSWA 1974. It was fined £3500 and ordered to pay reduced costs of £3000.
In mitigation, Crown Chicken admitted it had made failings but said there had been a duty on employees to take responsibility for their own health and safety. However, Inspector Turnell said the employee could not do that without the correct information having been provided.
The inspector concluded: “Mr Sherwood was a production worker and he had been released to do maintenance work without proper enquiries being made. Work at height should be properly planned and specific instructions given to the employee. He was not told the appropriate equipment for working at height.”
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