On the 7 June 2013, 24-year-old Ashley William Morris, known as Will, was working at Rainbow Waste Management’s site in Swadlincote. He sustained fatal injuries to his head and spine when the bucket of the Bobcat loader that he was operating crushed him. The inquest in November 2104 heard how his head became stuck between the bucket and the arm.
A Health & Safety Executive (HSE) prosecution took place at Derby Crown Court this week, some 15 months after the inquest. The court heard that in the 10 days leading up to the incident, CCTV cameras at site captured more than 200 examples of unsafe working practices. These practices included dangerous operations with the shovel such as workers being lifted in the bucket and workers having to take evasive action to avoid contact with moving vehicles.
Rainbow Waste Management Ltd of Robian Way, Swadlincote, Derbyshire pleaded guilty to breaching Section 2(1) of the Health and Safety at Work etc. Act 1974 and was fined £136,000 and ordered to pay £64,770 in costs.
HSE principal inspector Elizabeth Hornsby said: “Rainbow Waste failed to put in place basic legal requirements of training and supervision. The death of this young man was entirely avoidable.”
Got a story? Email news@theconstructionindex.co.uk
