farm fined £66,000 with £25,000 costs
Farm worker crushed to death by telehandler
A farm in Nottinghamshire has been fined following the death of a young worker, when he became trapped between two vehicles.
The 23 year-old from Lincolnshire sustained fatal injuries during the incident at Park Farm, Gainsborough on 7 April 2013.
Lincoln Crown Court heard how the young worker was alone at the farm at the weekend when his dumper truck got struck in a pile of manure. He was using the truck to transport cattle manure from the sheds to a large pile in the field. As he drove the fully laden truck up the manure heap it became stuck.
The Health and Safety Executive’s investigation found that the handbrake had not been applied to the telehandler the worker was using to free the dumper truck and when he was bending down to attach the two vehicles, the telehandler rolled forward and crushed him.
Lincoln Proteins Limited (formerly known as GH By-Products Limited), Windsor House, A1 Business Park, Long Bennington, Northamptonshire, was fined £66,000 and ordered to pay costs of £25,286 after pleading guilty to breaching Section 2 of Health and Safety at Work Act.
HSE inspector, Emma Madeley said, following the case:
“All too often within the farming community workers are injured in incidents involving farm machinery and, as in this tragic incident, killed. There were a number of opportunities to prevent the loss of this young life. Had a risk assessment been performed, along with suitable training, the necessity of carrying out the well-known industry ‘safe stop’ procedure would have been identified. Workers should have been given instructions about what to do if a vehicle became stuck and there should have been arrangements in place for getting help if needed.
“We can only hope farmers learn from this heart-breaking case that they are not invincible and small actions that take only a few moments of their time might save their and their workers lives.”