Cammell Laird fined over worker’s death

CAMMELL Laird, the Merseyside shipbuilding and engineering company,  firm has been fined £120,000 over the death of a welder who became trapped while driving a forklift truck.

Robert Dunroe, 62, from Wirral suffered life-threatening injuries while using the truck to transport heavy welding equipment at Cammell Laird in Birkenhead in August 2010. He died in hospital four days later.

His employer, Cammell Laird Shiprepairers & Shipbuilders Ltd, was prosecuted by the Health and Safety Executive (HSE) after an investigation found he had been able to drive the forklift despite not having any training.

Liverpool Crown Court heard that he had become crushed between the truck and a lifting beam used on a crane at the Campeltown Road plant.

The court was told that keys were routinely left in the ignition of forklifts, and that Mr Dunroe, knowns as Bobby, had driven a truck on several occasions without being challenged about his lack of training.

No procedures were in place to inform employees who was and who was not authorised to drive the trucks.

Cammell Laird Shiprepairers & Shipbuilders Ltd admitted breaching Section 2(1) of the Health and Safety at Work etc Act 1974 by failing to ensure the safety of its employees.

The company, which has around 500 employees, was fined £120,000 and ordered to pay £12,294 in costs.

HSE Inspector Richard Clarke commented: ““A company the size of Cammell Laird should have known better than to have allowed keys to be routinely left in forklift trucks, making driving a truck the easy option for employees wanting to transport heavy equipment.

“Mr Dunroe may well have thought he was doing his employer a favour by moving the welding equipment as quickly as possible, but instead he has ended up losing his life.

“The dangers of forklift trucks are well known in the manufacturing industry and Cammell Laird has since introduced new procedures to ensure keys are safely locked away, and that a list is available of trained drivers.

“If these procedures had been in place before Mr Dunroe’s death then he may well have still been alive today.”

A Cammell Laird spokesperson said: “Cammell Laird wishes to express its deepest regret that this tragic incident took place and we reiterate our apologies to Mr Dunroe’s family and friends.

“Bobby was a popular, likeable and strong character amongst his peers and has been, and will continue to be, greatly missed.

“We are committed to ensuring the safety of our workforce. We have had a commendable safety record until this accident. Since the accident we have reviewed our fork lift truck procedures to prevent similar incidents.  We have fully co-operated with the HSE’s investigation to ensure a swift and appropriate resolution to the case.

“We would like to thank Cammell Laird staff for their open and willing assistance during the inquest and investigation.”