13.12.2009

Telehandler operator jailed

A telehandler operator has been jailed for 21 months in the UK for manslaughter, resulting from gross negligence, following a fatal accident in 2007.

Nigel Herring, 35, was reportedly testing his Manitou telehandler, prior to starting the day's work on a site at East End Community Village Enterprise Centre, Cattedown, Plymouth on September 14th 2007, when the 280kg skip he was lifting fell onto a young bricklayer, Reece French, 20, who was working below.
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Nigel Herring

The jury at Plymouth Crown Court was told Herring, who worked for contractor Kier Western, had not followed safety procedures and had been grossly negligent in lifting the load above the heads of his two colleagues. He had denied the charges.

His attorney said: “He had not lied to the police, had suffered by killing his friend and would need treatment for many years to come. There had been no criminal intent and Herring was being punished for the consequences of his actions.”
High Court judge Tomlinson said: “Testing the machine while lifting the load above the heads of two fellow-workers was the height of folly and grossly negligent. It falls so far below what one can expect of a careful and competent telescopic handler driver as to amount to a criminal act".

Addressing Herring, Tomlinson added: "The job may well have been at the very limits of your capabilities, but the first golden rule is not difficult to understand. I appreciate the site was tight for space, but to carry out testing over the heads of others without clearing the site or giving a warning was gross negligence of the highest order."

"This was a tragic loss of a young life. Reece French was a first-rate young man on the threshold of independent married life. His supportive and loving family is devastated by his loss, and no sentence will do anything at all to ease that pain."
The Jury was unanimous in finding Herring guilty as charged. Tomlinson said that the 21 months was a merciful sentence, but one which would register public disapproval and make it clear to all workers that the safety of others was paramount.