An animal grain company from Stonehaven, near Aberdeen, was fined £4,000 after an employee fell five feet from an excavator bucket and spending the night in hospital with head injuries.
Viners Grain mill operative Douglas Mortimer would occasionally climb into the bucket to shake the contents of a tote bag to allow an even spread of animal feed
On 9 December 2009 he lost his balance and fell from the bucket onto the concrete floor below. He cut to his head, which needed to be stapled, and was unconsciousness for several minutes.
A subsequent investigation by the Health & Safety Executive found that there was no safe system of work in place for preparing the specialist mix. The method which had been used by Mr Mortimer was unsafe because it involved employees working unnecessarily at height with no control measures to prevent them from falling. The investigation also revealed that the company had not carried out a suitable and sufficient assessment of the risks involved because this was a task that was required only occasionally.
East Coast Viners Grain LLP, Broadwood, Drumlithie, Stonehaven was fined £4,000 by Stonehaven Sherrif Court after pleading guilty to breaching Section 2(1) of the Health and Safety at Work etc 1974 Act.
After the hearing, HSE Inspector Colin Leaver, said: "What happened to Mr Mortimer was entirely preventable and could have easily resulted in him being killed. East Coast Viners already had a grain conveyor on site which would have allowed Mr Mortimer to safely decant the maize from the ground, avoiding any need to work at height. There is no excuse for the company not to have carried out a straightforward risk assessment, nor to have agreed procedures for how this work was to be carried out safely."
Got a story? Email news@theconstructionindex.co.uk
