HGV driver hit by falling beams during unloading operation

Hugh Logan Plant and Engineering Services Ltd was fined £16,000 and Falburn Engineering Ltd fined £10,000 after an accident when I person was hit during forklift truck lifting operations.

The circumstances were:

• Kevin Bradley was an HGV driver for Hugh Logan Plant and Engineering Services Ltd.
• He had delivered beams to Falburn Engineering Ltd’s premises on 6 October 2010. 
• He was working with a Falburn forklift truck driver on the unloading operation.
• He was standing on the flatbed trailer when the forklift began to raise the second bundle.
• As it was lifted, the steel became unstable and rolled away from the forklift truck. 
• The metal strapping broke and the beams separated, falling towards Mr Bradley. 
• He attempted to jump out of the way but was hit by one of the beams which trapped his feet against the flatbed trailer. 
• Mr Bradley fell towards the ground with his feet still trapped and put his right hand down to break his fall.
• All four fingers on his right hand were shattered and he had a laceration across his palm which damaged the nerves, exposed the tendons and cut the blood supply to his fingers. 
• He underwent a 12-hour emergency operation to save and rebuild his right hand but he has yet to regain sufficient function in his right hand to return to work as an HGV driver and may never do so.
• The beams should not have been lifted until Mr Bradley had returned to the ground and was in a safe position. Both companies had compromised safety by neglecting to fully assess the risks involved in unloading the steel beams.

Hugh Logan Plant and Engineering Services Ltd failed to:

• make a sufficient assessment of the risks to employees involved in the delivery and unloading of steel;
• provide necessary information, instruction, training and supervision to ensure the safety of workers delivering and unloading steel;
• liaise with Falburn Engineering Ltd to ensure a safe system of work for unloading steel was in place and that the driver’s role had been agreed.

Falburn Engineering Ltd failed to:

• make a sufficient assessment of the risks to visiting workers during unloading of steel;
• liaise with Hugh Logan Plant and Engineering Services Ltd to ensure a safe system of work for unloading steel was in place and that the driver’s role had been agreed.

The HSE Inspector said:

“This was an entirely avoidable incident. The dangers associated with the delivery and unloading of steel, in particular the risks associated with the use of a forklift to carry out the task and the risk of being struck by falling loads, are well-known in the industry and readily foreseeable. It is clear there was no meaningful discussion between Falburn Engineering Ltd and Hugh Logan Plant and Engineering Services Ltd about how the delivery would be unloaded, by whom, and using what equipment. In effect, the employee who agreed to unload the delivery and Mr Bradley were left to their own devices to undertake the task in whatever way they thought most appropriate. Unfortunately, the method used on the day was far from safe and Mr Bradley was seriously injured as a result.”