Company Fined After Work Accident

Companies have been urged by the Health and Safety Executive (HSE) to ensure they have adequate processes in place to properly protect staff from being injured by vehicles at work, particularly those who work in the waste industry.
 
The renewed call comes in the wake of the prosecution of John Stacey and Sons Ltd at Winchester Crown Court. The case follows an incident at the company's Tadley site on June 1 2007 when an employee, Frederick Aubrey, was run over. He died five days later from his injuries.

John Stacey and Sons Ltd pleaded guilty to section 2(1) of the Health and Safety at Work Act 1974 and regulation 3(1) of the Management of Health and Safety at Work Regulations 1999 at an earlier hearing at Basingstoke Magistrates Court on 29 June. The company was fined £60,000 and ordered to pay full costs of £29,061.

The accident occurred while Frederick Aubrey was working at a waste transfer station owned by John Stacey and Sons Ltd. Mr Aubrey, along with two other employees, was hand-sorting waste, a process known as 'totting', when he was run over by a skip loader.

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David Urpeth from law firm Irwin Mitchell said: “I welcome the fine imposed following this horrific work accident.  Employers have a duty to ensure that their workers are provided with a safe place and a safe system of work.  Clearly, in this case, the employer fell short of the standards expected.

“I regularly have to help workers claim compensation following injuries sustained in circumstances that could easily have been avoided.”