Holt JCB fined £67,000 following injury to worker

JCB dealer prosecuted after vehicle wheel falls on employee resulting in broken bones in his feet

JCB dealers Holt JCB Ltd have been fined after the wheel of an industrial vehicle fell on to one of their workers at a site in Port Talbot, South Wales.

Swansea Magistrates’ Court heard how, on 8 April 2016, an apprentice had been tasked with changing air-filled tyres with foam tyres on a machine intended for use at a recycling site.

While carrying out the changeover, a wheel weighing more than 400kg fell on the man leaving him with broken bones in both feet.

An investigation by the Health and Safety Executive (HSE) found the company did not have any handling equipment for wheels, had not assessed the operation and had not trained workers on how to handle wheels.

Holt JCB pleaded guilty to breaching Regulation 4(1) of the Manual Handling Regulations 1992 and were fined £67,000 and ordered to pay costs of £2,929.70.

Speaking after the hearing, HSE inspector Steve Richardson said: ‘This incident could have been prevented if the company had used a mechanical wheel handler costing less than £700. Measures such as this would have been apparent had the task been properly assessed.’