Wildmoor fined £5,000 for employee head injury
J Williams-owned Wildmoor Quarry Products has been fined £5,000 and ordered to pay £3,520 in costs following an incident where an employee suffered head injuries after a 30kg lump of sandstone fell on his head.
On 21 March last year the lump measuring 350mm x 250mm x 250mm fell six meters from a Finlay 390 Hydrascreen at the QPA member’s Bromsgrove site after an employee started poking a pole at the rock trapped in the spreader plate to remove it.
How a rock came to be trapped is unknown. A Viper 302 feeding the Finlay was poorly maintained. Its mesh was broken. It is the most likely route the rock came in by, HSE inspector Ian Williamson told MQR.
After poking at the plate the employee loosened the rock and it hit him on the back of the head. He suffered blood clots and spent three days in hospital. He had been working at the site for 18months and has since recovered and is back at work.
On 23 April this year Bromsgrove and Redditch Magistrates’ Court found the firm guilty of breaching Section 2(1) of the Health and Safety at Work etc Act 1974.
In light of the incident the HSE repeated its message of the importance of ensuring all staff are trained to use machinery safely and that they are provided with, and wear, proper protective clothing and accessories.
Williamson said: “A quarry is one of the most dangerous environments and working there calls for vigilance by employers and workers alike. It is also obvious that workers should wear suitable head protection in an environment where there are large, heavy, materials swiftly moving along at high level.”
