£160,000 fine after worker suffered cracked skull
A Birmingham recycling company has been fined £160,000 after a worker suffered life-threatening injuries after being crushed by 400kg of cardboard.
Parvez Ahmed had been working at Arrow Recycling’s site in Smethwick when bale stacks of cardboard fell on him last April.
He suffered a cracked skull and a brain haemorrhage from the incident and was placed into a coma for 10 days.
The company pleaded guilty at Wolverhampton Magistrates’ Court of breaching Regulation 10(4) of the Work at Height Regulations 2005, and were fined £160,000 and ordered to pay costs of £2,917.
Health and Safety Executive inspector Mahesh Mahey said: “This incident highlights the need for employers to devise and implement safe systems of work in relation to storage of baled materials.
“If the company had safe systems of work in place Mr Ahmed would not have been seriously injured.”
An investigation by the Health and Safety Executive had found the company failed to establish a safe way to stack bales, which resulted in unstable and heavy bales.
