Construction firm in court after employee ran over by a nine tonne truck
A construction firm has been prosecuted for safety failings after one of its employees suffered severe injuries when he was run over by a nine tonne truck.
What happened?
David Windsor, a delivery driver for JB Leadbitter and Co LTD, had been delivering a mortar silo to the site where 159 new homes were being built.
Though he was wearing high-visibility clothing, he was hit by a dumper truck as he was crossing the site to return to his vehicle.
The 62-year-old sustained life changing injuries, including severe brain injury, fractured ribs and pelvis, and leg fractures and foot injuries all on his right side where the dumper ran over him.
He spent a fortnight in intensive care, followed by a month in a high dependency unit. He was finally discharged home from a brain injury rehabilitation unit over six months later.
An investigation into the incident found that the firm had failed to put in place traffic management plan to ensure the separation of vehicles and pedestrians using the roadway at the site.
What was the outcome?
JB Leadbitter and Co Ltd was fined £100,000 and ordered to pay costs of around £100,000, after pleading guilty of breaching the Health and Safety at Work Act 1974.
HSE Inspector, Jonathan Harris, said:
“This terrible incident has left Mr Windsor with significant and
lasting injuries and could easily have led to his death. It
is unlikely he will be able to return to work again.
“Simple forethought and planning could have
avoided this happening.
“JB Leadbitter failed to identify risks to site workers and visitors,
such as delivery drivers, in their construction phase plan
and made no provision for segregating site vehicles
and pedestrians at the top end of the site.
“Other workers on this large site were frequently exposed to
serious risks as a result of this lack of planning.
“Workplace transport incidents are the second most common cause
of serious and fatal incidents in the construction industry,
yet they could easily be avoided by having proper plan
in place and provision for pedestrians on site.”
If you have been affected by an accident at work, and you would like expert advice, contact Hampson Hughes Solicitors today on 0800 888 6888 or email
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