Steelmakers fined £180,000 after fatality

STEEL fabrication business Severfield has been fined more than £180,000 following the death of a forklift truck operator.

The offence to which Severfield pleaded guilty was not a ‘significant cause’ of the accident however.

The employee, 27 year-old Kelvin McGibbon was reversing the truck and not wearing a seatbelt, when it struck steps and overturned.

He suffered severe injuries from being crushed in the incident on 13 March 2013, which proved fatal.

Teeside Crown Court heard that Severfield did not enforce the wearing of seat-belts or control the speed at which some FLT operators drove their trucks.

Dalton-based Severfield pleaded guilty to a non-causative breach of regulation and was fined £135,000 and ordered to pay costs of £46,020.

HSE inspector David Welsh said after the hearing: “A company has a legal duty for the health and safety of people working on its site, whether they are employees or not.

“They are required to assess risks, eliminate them where possible and enforce proper control measures, such as seat belt wear, by checking that safe driving practices are being followed to deal with the risks that remain.

“Sadly, in this case, the prosecution shows that the company’s management of FLT driving operations and risk control measures failed with tragic consequences for Mr McGibbon and his family.”

Last week it was announced that Severfield would be making 19 job cuts across its Dalton and Bolton operations as it attempts to ensure “operational efficiency.”