Dad’s legs crushed by 800kg pallet
A manufacturer in Sheffield has been fined after a steel pallet landed on an employee, leaving him permanently disabled.
The 800kg load crushed Wayne Hatton’s legs during a night shift at Amber Precast Ltd’s factory on 14 January 2021.
Mr Hatton, from Doncaster, had his right lower leg amputated with two toes on his left foot also being removed following the incident at Davy Business Park.
The pallet was being removed from a reinforced concrete cast when it fell onto the father-of-two, who had only recently been employed by the firm as a supervisor.
The then 46-year-old spent seven weeks in hospital and now has a prosthetic leg after his right lower leg was amputated.
A Health and Safety Executive (HSE) investigation found the pallet had not been secured onto the lifting chains of the overhead crane before being removed from the concrete cast. This meant the pallet was not supported while being moved.
The investigation also found Amber Precast Ltd failed to consistently implement a system of work to ensure the pallet could be removed safely. Mr Hatton, now 50, and other members on his team had not received any information or instructions on how to remove the pallet safely.
Read more on the HSM website.
Weak manager training must get stronger for workers’ mental health
Poor mental health in the workplace is a growing concern in the UK, with alarming trends in stress, burnout and absenteeism. While it looks like a lack of manager training could be at the heart of the problem, writes IOSH’s Ceri Finnegan, this could be changed to become part of the solution.
Nearly half (46 per cent) of all work-related ill-health cases a year stem from stress, depression or anxiety – these account for 16.4 million lost working days.
Employer investment in worker training was recently reported to have dropped by almost a fifth over the past decade1. This has implications for workplace wellbeing. Training budgets are often seen as expendable during economic pressures, but the reduction has coincided with a dramatic rise in workplace stress and burnout. This connection is not coincidental.
Without adequate training, managers are ill-equipped to identify and address early warning signs of mental health issues, which perpetuates a cycle of unaddressed stress, absenteeism and declining productivity.
Learn more on the IOSH website.
Fine for MOT testing centre after child crushed by car
An MOT Testing centre in Finsbury Park has been fined £10,000 after a child sustained life changing injuries after being hit by a car and crushed.
A 14-year-old boy was with an adult, sitting down, waiting for an MOT to be conducted at New Auto Tech Limited on 4 May 2022. The chair was situated in front of the brake rollers, however, as the MOT technician attempted to move the car in reverse, the vehicle was driven forwards off the brake rollers, crushing the child against the wall.
The boy required immediate hospital treatment, having sustained multiple pelvis fractures. They were off school for over a year and bed bound for three months following the incident.
The Health and Safety Executive (HSE) found that New Auto Tech Limited failed to ensure that members of the public were in a safe area when vehicles were being moved.
For more on the incident visit the SHP website.
Fine after worker fell to his death from church steeple
A specialist construction company has been fined £60,000 after a worker fell to his death from a church steeple in Birmingham.
David Clover was employed by Ecclesiastical Steeplejacks Ltd to carry out restoration work to St Nicholas’ Church in Kings Norton on 13 November 2020. The 64-year-old steeplejack had been suspended from the 60 metre tall steeple of the Grade 1 listed building, sitting in a ‘bosun’s chair’ – a work positioning seat – when he fell, suffering fatal injuries.
An investigation by the Health and Safety Executive (HSE) identified that the bosun’s chair was not supported by a suitable backup system preventing falls, such as, a double or twin leg lanyard fall arrest harness.
Read more on the HSM website.
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