Haulage company fined after man dies in fall from loading bay

A haulage company in Wales has been fined £100,000 after a worker fell from a loading bay and died. The 63-year-old, from Hungary, had been preparing a load of trailers in his lorry ahead of departure from Williams Haulage Limited’s site at Deeside Industrial Estate on March 16, 2020.

The load of trailers were due to be delivered to a site in Germany and the man, who was not employed by Williams Haulage, was trying to reach the top of his lorry, with one foot on the loading bay and the other on the back of another lorry.

A Health and Safety Executive report said that he fell approximately 1.25 metres onto the concrete floor below when the adjacent lorry was driven away. He sustained severe head injuries and died at the Royal Stoke University Hospital two months later on May 16, 2020.

A Health and Safety Executive (HSE) investigation into the incident found Williams Haulage had carried out a risk assessment that identified the risk from falls and introduced control measures, but these had not been used in practice. They also found there was a lack of supervision and monitoring by Williams Haulage to check that these control measures were being used by its staff. Additionally, insufficient consideration had been given to visiting drivers, particularly when English is not their first language.

Williams Haulage Limited, of Old Station Road, Cynwyd, Corwen, Clwyd, pleaded guilty to breaching Section 3 (1) of the Health and Safety at Work etc. Act 1974. The company was fined £100,000 and ordered to pay £8,400.50 in costs at Llandudno^[3] Magistrates’ Court on September 20, 2023.

HSE inspector Matthew Pendle said: “Any fall can have devastating consequences – as has been shown in this case of a man working far from home. Haulage by nature means drivers who do not always speak English can visit sites – they must be protected.

"This incident could so easily have been avoided had the company simply ensured the control measures and safe working practices were followed and that visiting drivers were informed of the site’s safety rules.”

References

1. ^{^} Residents moved from Cardiff homes after 'potential health and safety risk' (www.walesonline.co.uk)
2. ^{^} Award-winning Welsh burger restaurant Hills given zero food hygiene rating (www.walesonline.co.uk)
3. ^{^} Llandudno (www.walesonline.co.uk)