Date of article: 05/10/2007
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A merseyside company has been fined and ordered to pay legal costs totaling £110,000 after a member of staff was killed in an accident involving a wheeled loading vehicle.
Grundy and Co Excavations Ltd has been fined £110,000 and ordered to pay £9,034 costs by Warrington Crown Court after pleading guilty to a charge under the Health and Safety at Work Act 1974, Section 2(1), failing to ensure the safety of an employee by the provision of safe working systems.
The court heard that employee Joshua Beswick died on 1 September 2004 while walking across the company's yard at Ditton Road, Widnes. The company reclaims building materials for the construction industry.
The resulting fine from the accident has sparked the HSE into warning employers about the dangers of moving vehicles in the workplace.
HSE Inspector John NcGrellis said:
"Joshua Beswick a 20-year-old labourer was killed instantly when he was struck by a wheeled loader. This was totally avoidable accident, had safe-working systems been in place. Every effort needs to be made to seperate vehicles and pedestrains to avoid tragic consequences.
"Where vehicles and pedestrians use the same routes they should be seperated, with appropriate crossing points clearly marked and signposted where necessary."
HSE statistics show that 2006/07 has already seen 30 fatalities in the workplace caused by employees being struck by vehicles.
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