Transport company loses appeal against fine following serious incident
Harris Transport lost their appeal against the £28,000 fine handed to them on 23 January after an incident left an employee permanently disabled. The company now have to pay the fine in full and have incurred additional court costs of £5,300, Southampton Crown Court heard on 2 June.
Lee McMahon, from Southampton, suffered severe injuries to both legs when he was run over by a forklift truck whilst working at Harris Transport in Southampton. An HSE investigation discovered a systemic breakdown in Harris Transport’s health and safety management.
The incident occurred despite Lee McMahon wearing appropriate high visibility clothing. At the time, very dark conditions were reported, because the workplace lighting was deficient, and there were general maintenance problems with the forklift trucks. There was also no separation between vehicles and pedestrians, creating a dangerous situation in an environment where the lack of lighting restricted visibility.
Additional factors were that peripheral equipment on the forklift trucks created a number of blind spots and drivers had little or no training with new forklift trucks.
Ray Kelly, the HSE prosecuting Inspector said:
"This case illustrated starkly how easily normal work places can become accidental scenes when health and safety management systems breakdown. Some 15 months after the accident, Mr. McMahon, the injured person, is still in great pain, is unable to work and never likely to again."
"The HSE were very disappointed that Harris Transport Ltd felt the need to challenge the original penalty, which had followed a very serious accident, resulting in the permanent disablement of one of their employees, an accident that could have very easily resulted in his death."
Notes to editors:
- On 23 January 2008, George Harris (representing Harris Transport Ltd) was fined the following at Lyndhurst Magistrates’ Court:
- £4,000 for failing to provide suitable lighting (maximum £5,000)
- £4,000 for a poor risk assessment (maximum £5,000)
- £20,000 for breaching the Health & Safety at Work at 1974 (maximum £20,000)
- Also fees £8986.90 and victim surcharge of £15
- Section 2(1) of the Health and Safety at Work etc Act 1974:
Harris Transport Ltd failed to discharge the duty imposed on it by section 2(1) of the Act, in that it failed to ensure, so far as was reasonably practicable, the safety at work of its employees, including Lee McMahon, who was run over and injured by a forklift truck whilst working at its premises, whereby it is guilty of an offence contrary to Section 33(1)(a) of the Act and liable to a penalty as provided by Section 33(1A) of the Act as amended. - Regulation 3(1)(a) of The Management of Health and Safety at Work Regulations 1999:
Harris Transport Ltd failed to discharge the duty imposed on it by Regulation 3(1)(a) of the Management of Health and Safety at Work Regulations 1999 in that it failed to make a suitable and sufficient assessment of the risks to the health and safety of its employees to which they were exposed whilst they were at work, including the risks presented by the operation within the same work area during the hours of darkness of forklift trucks and pedestrians which resulted in an accident causing injury to Lee McMahon on the 17th November 2006, for the purpose of identifying the measures it needed to take to comply with the requirements and prohibitions imposed upon it by or under the relevant statutory provisions, whereby it is guilty of an offence contrary to section 33(1)(c) of the Act and liable to a penalty as provided by section 33(3) of the Act. - Regulation 8(1) of The Workplace (Health, Safety and Welfare) Regulations 1992:
Harris Transport Ltd failed to discharge the duty imposed on it by Regulation 8(1) of the Workplace (Health, Safety and Welfare) Regulations 1992 in that it failed to provide suitable and sufficient lighting in its workplace for work activities occurring outside daylight hours in its loading yard, which resulted in an accident causing injury to Lee McMahon on the 17th November 2006, whereby they/he/she are/is guilty of an offence contrary to section 33(1)(c) of the Act and liable to a penalty as provided by section 33(3) of the Act. - The Health and Safety Commission is responsible for health and safety regulation in Great Britain. The Health and Safety Executive and local government are the enforcing authorities working in support of the Commission. See http://www.hse.gov.uk for more information. For more information about hazards at work and occupational health, see http://hse.gov.uk/pubns/ohindex.htm.
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