Workplace safety breaches by manufacturing company led to workplace death

A textile manufacturer was ordered to pay over £115,000 for workplace safety breaches that led to the death of a worker.

The deceased, a 61-year-old forklift truck operator, was crushed and killed by a falling stack of rag bales. The workplace accident occurred at the firm’s warehouse, when the top two bales, which weighed more than 300kg, struck the worker on the head.

An investigation by the Health and Safety Executive found that the manufacturing company had stacked the rag bales unsafely and had failed to put effective measures in place to control the pedestrian activities around the warehouse.

Health and Safety Exectuive inspector Geoff Fletcher said:
"This tragic incident could have been avoided had [the company] taken its duty of care toward its employees sufficiently seriously. The sad consequence of the company's failures is an unnecessary loss of life and the devastating impact this has had on [the worker’s] partner, family and friends.”

Source: http://www.hse.gov.uk/press/2013/rnn-yh-3713.htm

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