Firm fined £200k after employee run over
A RECYCLING company has been fined £200,000 after an employee at a site in Lancashire was struck by a 7.5 tonne vehicle.
In a case brought by the Health and Safety Executive at Preston Crown Court, Sita UK Limited was said to have failed to provide adequate segregation between pedestrians and moving vehicles at a waste transfer station in Darwen.
As an employee walked across an outside plastics hand sorting area, he passed behind a stationary telehandler. The telehandler began to reverse and struck the worker who was knocked to the ground and then run over by the rear wheel of the vehicle.
His injuries caused him to be hospitalised for two months.
The Health and Safety Executive (HSE) prosecuting told the Court the company had identified the risks but failed to put in place suitable controls to stop people being hit by vehicles.
HSE inspector Stuart Kitchingman said after the hearing: “Employers need to look carefully at their workplaces regularly to make sure that pedestrian routes are clearly marked and physically separated from vehicle routes wherever possible.
“The employee could have easily been killed and still has severe mobility problems as a result of the accident. He is unlikely to be able to work in the near future.”
Sita UK Limited of Berkshire, pleaded guilty to breaching Section 2 (1) of the Health and Safety at Work Act 1974 and was fined £200,000 with £11,998 costs.
