23.11.2010

Telehandler operator fined

A court in the UK has fined a telehandler operator £7,000, while the building company he was working for was fined £7,500 plus £25,000 in costs following a fatal accident.

The accident occurred on a site in Banbury in 2008 three ceramic tilers, Michael Whateley, 28, his brother Robert Whateley and Paul Keen, all from Northampton, were waiting in their car for a building plot to be unlocked in Broughton Road, Banbury, in Oxfordshire.

Keith Payne, the telehandler operator was carrying out routine checks of the machine prior to starting work. He then raised and then fully extended the boom as part of his routine daily checks. However, the machine tipped over and the boom and forks landed on the car, crushing the roof.
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The fallen telehandler caught the car right where the front seat passengers were sitting

Michael Whateley died from his injuries. Robert Whateley suffered fractures to his spine, and a brain injury. Paul Keen suffered neck and spinal injuries, a broken ankle, broken ribs and a fractured breastbone.

The Health and Safety Executive (HSE) investigation showed the incident was preventable if Payne had followed the telehandler’s operating instructions and made sure that it was on firm level ground before full raising the boom.

The builder - Linden Ltd, a division of Galiford Try, also failed to ensure that the equipment was maintained properly and the tyre pressures were found to be lower than recommended.

Payne was found guilty of breaching section 7 of the Health and Safety at Work etc. Act 1974 and was fined £7,000.

Linden of Uxbridge, pleaded guilty to regulation 5 of the Provision and Use of Work equipment Regulations 1998. The company was fined £7,500 and ordered to pay costs of £25,000.

Following the hearing, HSE Inspector James Powell said: "This was a horrific accident that was totally avoidable. Construction sites have inherent risks, and even rough-terrain lift trucks have strict operational limits that need to be observed. With competent operation and suitable maintenance, tragedies like this should not happen.”

"Lives have been destroyed here and today's sentencing must serve to remind all employers and employees of their duties and responsibilities while using this type of machinery."
See original report from Jan 2008

Vertikal Comment

It is unusual for an operator to be fined for not paying attention to the machines manual and safety procedures. In this case the operator was self-employed and one wonders if this made a difference to the fine given out?

We understand that in this case the operator had received the appropriate training to operate the machine and was clearly diligent enough to be carrying out pre work checks- not something every operator does.

However he appears to have neglected the fact that the telehandler’s tyre pressures were low and then fully extended the boom while on a slope ..you would have thought that as a trained operator he would have felt the machine begin to get ‘light’ before finally tipping over?

It is about time the law started holding individuals to account as well as the companies responsible for the workplace. While it would not be right for employees to take all of the blame, they surely have some responsibility when operating recklessly after having received all of the appropriate training etc…