HSE warns companies to assess safety risks after a man's leg had to be amputated

HSE/EM/35 14 May 2009

The Health and Safety Executive (HSE) has today warned companies of the need to carry out suitable risk assessments after a man's leg had to be amputated when he was crushed by a falling weight.

At Southern Derbyshire Magistrates' Court today (14 May) agricultural contractors Pete Mellor Ltd of Burton on Trent pleaded guilty to breaching section 3(1) of the Health and Safety at Work etc Act 1974 for failing to ensure the safety of people not in their employment. They also admitted breaching Regulation 3(1) of the Management of Health and Safety at Work Regulations 1999 for failing to make suitable and sufficient risk assessments. The company was fined a total £12,000 and ordered to pay costs of £2,500.

The charges relate to an incident on 11 October 2007 when an employee was repairing a forklift truck at the company's rented premises at Barn Farm in Drakelow, Derbyshire, which involved removing the counterbalance weight. The 1.8 tonne weight was not supported; it fell off and landed on a self-employed worker who was walking past at the time. The weight crushed the man's left leg which had to be amputated below the knee.

HSE Inspector Samantha Farrar said:

"The incident resulted from an unsafe system of work. The weight was not supported during removal and the person carrying out the repair had been given insufficient information and instruction. Also, the injured party was allowed to walk through the work area.

"A risk assessment for the job was not carried out. A suitable and sufficient assessment would have addressed all of these issues and a man may not have been left with a life-changing disability."

Notes to editors

1. 1. Section 3(1) of the Health and Safety at Work etc Act 1974 states: "It shall be the duty of every employer to conduct his undertaking in such a way as to ensure, so far as is reasonably practicable, that persons not in his employment who may be affected thereby are not thereby exposed to risks to their health or safety."
2. 2. Regulation 3(1) of the Management of Health and Safety at Work Regulations 1999 states : "Every employer shall make a suitable and sufficient assessment of -
   1. the risks to the health and safety of his employees to which they are exposed whilst they are at work; and
   2. the risks to the health and safety of persons not in his employment arising out of or in connection with the conduct by him of his undertaking, for the purpose of identifying the measures he needs to take to comply with the requirements and prohibitions imposed upon him by or under the relevant statutory provisions and by Part II of the Fire Precautions (Workplace) Regulations 1997.

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