06th Aug, 2021 Read time 1 minute

Company Fined After Worker Fatally Injured

Egger (UK) Limited was fined after a self-employed lorry driver was killed while making a regular delivery of recycled wood, Egger (UK) Limited was fined.


 

The driver Kenneth Aitchison was struck by a wheeled shovel loader operating in the yard at their Auchinleck headquarters in Scotland on 3 October 2017 while standing on open ground at the back of the trailer of his articulated vehicle.

According to an examination by the Health and Safety Executive (HSE), the company’s risk assessments for workplace transportation were not acceptable or sufficient, according to an investigation by the Health and Safety Executive (HSE). Despite the high volume of vehicle movements and past near misses, this resulted in a failure to recognise that people, especially delivery drivers, were at risk of being struck by moving cars in the yard. Consequently, the corporation failed to take the necessary precautions to alleviate the danger, like providing designated pedestrian pathways.

Egger (UK) Limited of Technology House, Goldsworth Road, Woking was proved guilty and was fined £910,000 for violating Sections 2(1) and 3(1) of the Health and Safety at Work Act etc. 1974.

“The risks to pedestrians where vehicles are moving are well known,” HSE inspector Kathryn Wilson said after the hearing. This event might have been easily averted if the organisation had identified the risks and implemented simple control measures and safe working practises. The delivery driver would still be alive if they had done so.

“Companies should be aware that if they fail to meet the essential requirements, HSE will not hesitate to take appropriate legal action.”

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