Two firms have been sentenced after a worker broke his leg when the brakes of his ride-on cleaning machine failed leading him to steer into a balustrade at Stansted airport.
28-year-old Carl Marshall was forced to veer into the balustrade after the brakes on his machine failed. Had he not done so, he would have crashed into pedestrians at the airport in the incident, which happened in July 2013.
Passengers rushed to help free his trapped legs when the machine came to halt but Mr Marshall, from Essex, suffered a broken right thigh as a result of the incident. He also suffered two sprained ankles and a sprained right knee, which left him needing four days’ treatment in hospital. He has since returned to work.
The incident was investigated by the Health and Safety Executive (HSE) and the body prosecuted Surrey-based ISS Facility Services Ltd, who was Mr Marshall’s employer. The vehicle’s maintenance contractor, Middlesex-based Michael Laryea, who trades as Lamick Floor Machines, was also prosecuted.
Chelmsford Magistrates’ Court heard last month that once Mr Marshall had realised the brakes weren’t slowing the machine during its descent down a sloping passenger ramp, he shouted for pedestrians to get out of the way, pulling the steering wheel to slow the vehicle against the central walkway balustrade. Following the incident, the passengers came to his aid, stopping the machine from moving further by leaning on it and freeing Mr Marshall’s trapped legs.
The investigation by the HSE determined that the brakes of the scrubber drier machine had worn and become ineffective after they had been poorly maintained. A second machine was found to be in a similar condition.
ISS Facility Services Limited was fined £30,000 alongside prosecution costs of £5,490 after it pleaded guilty to breaching the Health and Safety at Work etc Act 1974 and the Provision and Use of Work Equipment Regulations 1998.
Michael Laryea, trading as Lamick Floor Machines was fined £10,000 alongside costs of £5,490 after it pleaded guilty to breaching the Health and Safety at Work etc Act 1974.
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