Company fined £50,000 after worker crushed to death
Booth Mixer Hire prosecuted after worker fatally crushed when concrete truckmixer fell on to him
DONCASTER-based Booth Mixer Hire Ltd have been fined £50,000 after an employee was killed when a concrete truckmixer fell on to him. The 52-year-old man was fatally crushed by the vehicle at the company’s Bankend Quarry site on 9 December 2019. He had been replacing the truckmixer’s two front wheels when it fell on top of him.
With the existing wheels already removed, the worker entered the underside of the vehicle and attempted to prop it higher up using a bottle jack. It was at this point when the truckmixer fell on to the worker.
A Health and Safety Executive (HSE) investigation into the incident found that Booth Mixer Hire had failed to carry out a suitable and sufficient risk assessment for replacing the wheels on the vehicle. The firm had also failed to put in place a system of work that ensured the work could be carried out safely. It also failed to consider the use of alternative equipment, such as a trolley jack, which would have allowed the vehicle to be jacked from outside the danger zone.
HSE guidance states employers must make sure there are safe working procedures in place when moving heavy loads and ensure all lifting points for jacks and stands are correct for that vehicle.
Booth Mixer Hire, who pleaded guilty to breaching Section 2(1) of the Health and Safety at Work etc. Act 1974, were fined £50,000 and ordered to pay £16,717.15 in costs at Sheffield Magistrates’ Court on 2 April 2024.
HSE inspector John Boyle said: ‘This tragic incident could have been avoided by assessing the risk and implementing safe working practices. Companies should be aware that HSE will not hesitate to take appropriate enforcement action against those that fall below the required standards.’
