Company Fined £120,000 After Man Killed By Heavy Graphite Boxes

A Swansea company has been fined £120,000 for its role in an accident that left a 52-year-old lorry driver with fatal crush injuries.

Morganite Electrical Carbon failed to provide a safe system of work for the removal of heavy graphite boxes from the back of a lorry at its site in Upper Forest Way.

Ahmet Yakar, a Turkish national who did not speak English, died when he attempted to unload the cargo from his truck on 19 July 2011.

An investigation by the Health and Safety Executive (HSE) found the man was reluctant to open the side curtains of his vehicle in order to remove the load and instead he used a manual pallet truck to drag the boxes to the back of the trailer.

Some of the boxes - which had been stacked four high - became unstable and eventually fell and knocked Mr Yakar off the lorry.

The next heavy box dropped out of the trailer, landing on top of the driver. He died at the scene.

According to the HSE, Morganite Electrical Carbon failed to carry out a risk assessment and had not devised a safe method of unloading lorries. The firm did not have a system in place for explaining procedures to drivers who could not speak English.

The firm was ordered to cover costs of £16,021 after admitting to breaches of the Health and Safety at Work etc Act 1974 and the Management of Health and Safety at Work Regulations 1999.

Loading and unloading large vehicles can be very dangerous and the HSE has published clear guidelines so that workers can remain safe while completing this task.

Following the hearing at Swansea Crown Court, HSE inspector Steve Lewis said Mr Yakar should have been instructed to remove the boxes from the side of the lorry, rather than the back.

"The company failed to provide their employees with suitable instructions and safe systems of work for accepting lorry deliveries to site. They should have taken responsibility for the driver's safety and the delivery and unloading operation," Mr Lewis remarked.

"Mr Yakar and his family in Turkey have paid the ultimate price for Morganite's carelessness in this regard."

Expert Opinion

This is a sad and tragic case where a worker has died after a heavy box fell on him. It is very worrying that the subsequent investigation by the HSE revealed that the firm did not have a safety system in place explaining procedures to its drivers. <br/> <br/>“Health and safety must always come first and we hope that lessons can be learned from cases like this which will ensure that similar incidents of this nature are avoided. <br/> <br/>“Too many companies are making simple mistakes which expose their workers to the risk of serious injury or even death. This has to change and we hope that this case is a well overdue wake-up call for many employers.” <br/>