Worker Seriously Injured in Mobile Platform Fall
A waste equipment maintenance firm in Buckinghamshire has been fined after a worker suffered serious head injuries when a mobile elevating work platform (MEWP) overturned.
Incident
At the time of the incident on 19th January 2015, Geoffrey Hatton, 49, from County Durham, was in the process of deconstructing a compactor at a site in Wilmslow, Cheshire.
A Court heard that Mr Hatton, who was in the MEWP, and a colleague, were dismantling large pieces of cladding from the frame of a compactor. The machine toppled over when a large piece of the cladding came into contact with the MEWP.
Injuries
Mr Hatton fractured his skull and two ribs in the incident and spent two months in hospital.
Investigation
The HSE (Health and Safety Executive) carried out an investigation finding serious safety failings by Cole Mechanical Services Ltd. The MEWP in question was only suitable for internal work, however at the time of the incident it was being used outside.
The employees at the firm were not trained in how to use MEWPS or how to safely erect tower scaffolding and no risk assessment had been conducted for the work being carried out. Furthermore it was found that during the time of the incident another worker was working on a fragile roof with no protection to prevent falls.
Sentencing
Cole Mechanical Services Ltd of Ashbridge Road, Chesham, Buckinghamshire pleaded guilty to a breach of Section 2(1)of the Health and Safety at Work etc. Act 1974. The company was fined £30,000 and ordered to pay costs of £8,995.
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