Amber Precast fined £60,000 after worker left disabled
Sheffield-based precast concrete manufacturer prosecuted after employee’s leg crushed by steel pallet
AMBER Precast Ltd have been fined £60,000 after a steel pallet landed on an employee, leaving him permanently disabled. The 800kg load crushed Wayne Hatton’s legs during a night shift at the company’s factory in Sheffield on 14 January 2021. Mr Hatton had to have his right lower leg amputated along with two toes on his left foot following the incident.
The pallet was being removed from a reinforced concrete cast when it fell on Mr Hatton, who had only recently been employed by the firm as a supervisor. The then 46-year-old spent seven weeks in hospital and now has a prosthetic right lower leg.
A Health and Safety Executive (HSE) investigation found that the pallet had not been secured to the lifting chains of the overhead crane before being removed from the concrete cast. This meant that the pallet was not supported while being moved.
The investigation also found that Amber Precast Ltd consistently failed to implement a system of work to ensure the pallet could be removed safely. Mr Hatton, now 50, and other members on his team had not received any information or instructions on how to remove the pallet safely.
Amber Precast Ltd, who pleaded guilty to breaching Section 2(1) of the Health and Safety at Work etc. Act 1974, were fined £60,000 and ordered to pay £5,406.31 in costs at Sheffield Magistrates’ Court on 9 January 2025.
HSE inspector Jane Fox said: ‘This incident could so easily have been avoided with the correct instructions and implementation of an agreed safe working procedure. Amber Precast Ltd left their employees to work out their own methods of completing the pallet removal task, instead of providing them with suitable training and equipment so it could be done safely every time.’
