A single-decker bus was being loaded onto a low-loader truck when the load swung into him. Clifford Evans, 49 from Fochriw, Caerphilly, was momentarily pinned against a wall before the bus swung back again. He suffered fractures to his pelvis and ribs.
Abba Scrap Metals Ltd was prosecuted by the Health & Safety Executive (HSE) following the incident at Penygarnddu Industrial Estate in Merthyr Tydfil on 6 December 2011.
Merthyr Tydfil Magistrates heard today that workers at the company were taking away the 3.5-tonne bus for crushing after they had salvaged parts from it.
They had planned to use an excavator to lift the front of the bus and a forklift truck to lift the rear, so that the low-loader could then reverse under it. As they lifted the front of the bus, using two chains attached to the grab on the excavator, it swung outwards and struck Mr Evans.
The court was told the work had been badly planned and none of the workers involved had received training on lifting vehicles using chains. The company should not have allowed a worker to stand in a position where he was at risk of being pinned against a wall by the bus.
Abba Scrap Metals was fined £8,000 and ordered to pay £8,912 in costs after admitting a breach of the Lifting Operations & Lifting Equipment Regulations 1998.
Speaking after the hearing, HSE inspector Dean Baker said they should have just used the excavator on its own: "Clifford Evans suffered painful fractures to his pelvis and ribs, but his injuries could easily have been more serious or even fatal. The bus could have been lifted by simply using the grab on the excavator, but the company overcomplicated it by using two vehicles and not positioning the chains safely.
"Had the work been properly planned by Abba Scrap Metals, and had workers been given proper training on lifting vehicles, then the incident could have been avoided."
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