A stevedoring company in Glamorgan has been fined after one of its employees suffered serious leg injuries in a fall from a trailer.
58-year-old Nigel Preece from Bridgend fell more than three metres whilst unloading steel coils from a trailer. He sustained two broken legs.
Earlier this month (4th February), Mr Preece’s employer Briton Ferry Stevedoring appeared at Swansea Magistrates. The court heard how the worker had needed to stand on the trailer, feeding a lifting strap through the coils so that they could be taken off the vehicle. When lifting the coil, Mr Preece had replaced the loose board on the floor of the trailer covering the well and used to hold in place the coil when it was being transported.
However, on this occasion the board hadn’t been properly placed and therefore moved when Mr Preece stood on it. He lost his balance and fell off the trailer. He broke both his legs above the knee and was treated in intensive care for a week, needing a 10-and-a-half hour operation as a result of his injuries. He could not walk for three months without support and it took him six months before he could walk completely unaided.
The Health and Safety Executive (HSE) launched an investigation into the incident and found that the firm had failed to ensure that the work was being carried out safely. It also had not ensured that measures were in place to prevent or minimise the effects of a fall.
Briton Ferry Stevedoring Ltd pleaded guilty to a breach of the Health and Safety at Work Act 1974. The company was fined £13,000 alongside costs totalling £1,497.
Speaking after the hearing, HSE Inspector Steve Richardson said: “Mr Preece suffered extreme pain and serious injuries and could have lost his life because his employer did not take simple measures to plan, manage or control the work he was asked to carry out.
“Falls from height are the biggest cause of workplace deaths and there is no excuse for employers failing to safeguard workers who have to work at height.”