Firm Fined Following Fatal Incident

The need for workplace transport to be carefully managed has been highlighted after a Durham company was fined following the death of a man at a coal processing plant, according to a lawyer at Irwin Mitchell.

Hargreaves Services Ltd was fined £120,000 and ordered to pay costs of £35,000 over an incident which saw maintenance fitter Alan Noddle suffer fatal injuries when he was run over by a loading shovel at the firm’s Astra Site at Immingham Docks in July 2007.

It was revealed that the driver of the vehicle could not see the 48-year-old victim as the large bucket on the loading shovel blocked his view.

David Urpeth, national head of workplace injuries at Irwin Mitchell, said: “This tragic, and avoidable, case highlights clearly why companies cannot rest on their laurels when it comes to the safe use of transport on their sites.

“Moving vehicles can pose a manner of risks to workers if not correctly managed, so it is vital that clear guidance is put in place to protect workers and ensure those using the transport are properly trained and supervised.

“There are clear lessons that must be learnt from this case and I hope that companies across all sectors take note of the concerns raised here.”