In October 2013 a firm in Bolton that undertakes recycling has been fined after an employee was struck be a beam weighing more than 100kg.
The incident took place at J Doyle Ltd where the victim, a 52 year old man from Horwich, was struck on the 18th July 2012 by a six metre long beam which slipped from the forks of a fork lift truck and struck him on the left leg. The incident resulted in a deep cut to the shin with bruising and swelling of the shin, ankle and foot, as well as a fractured ankle. This resulted in his being off work for more than three months and has left him with a limp.
The Health and Safety Executive (HSE) undertook a prosecution after its investigation found that the firm had failed to ensure that its lifting of the beam was planned, supervised or carried out safely.
The incident occurred, Trafford Magistrates’ Court heard, when a colleague, on trying to put the beam into a skip, this resulted in it slipping from the fork lift injuring the driver. J Doyle Ltd was fined £2,000 and ordered to pay prosecution costs of £1,500 after pleading guilty to breaching the Lifting Operations and Lifting Equipment Regulations 1998.