Firms fined £350,000 after driver killed by huge steel gates
A SOLIHULL steel production firm was one of two companies fined more than £350,000 after a trucker was crushed to death by half-a-ton of steel gates.
Andrew Bayley-Machin, from Staffordshire, suffered fatal chest injuries while unstrapping a load from a trailer at Joseph Ash Ltd.
Mr Bayley-Machin, 41, was hit as the gates fell around three metres from a load on a flatbed trailer in June, 2018.
The vehicle had been loaded at Joseph Ash Ltd’s Telford base, and was being driven by Mr BayleyMachin to his employer LM Bateman & Company, in Leek.
A Health and Safety Executive (HSE) investigation discovered arrangements for planning and restraining loads were ‘inadequate’.
A Joseph Ash Ltd spokesman said it had always taken its health and safety responsibilities extremely seriously and had co-operated fully throughout the HSE investigation.
“First and foremost, Joseph Ash wish to pass on our thoughts and sympathies to the family and friends of Mr Bayley-Machin who have lost a loved one and a good friend.
“Mr Bayley-Machin, known as ‘Andy’, was a regular driver who visited one of our sites on a daily basis for many years.
“Whilst Joseph Ash has strong health and safety processes and procedures, we have in working with our customer, LM Bateman, as well as the HSE, taken steps to further strengthen the safety controls around loads and load safety.
Joseph Ash continues to keep its safety regime under continuous review.”
An investigation by the Health and Safety Executive (HSE) found that arrangements for planning and restraining loads were inadequate to ensure that the stability of goods was independent of the load straps so that release of the straps did not allow the load to fall from the vehicle.
Joseph Ash Limited of Arelston Way, Shirley, pleaded guilty to breaching the Health and Safety at Work Act. It was fined £239,000 and ordered to pay costs of £17,834 and a victim surcharge of £100 at North Staffordshire Justice Centre.
LM Bateman and Company Limited of Leek, Staffordshire pleaded guilty to breaching the Health and Safety at Work Act.
It was fined £120,000 and ordered to pay costs of £16,334 and a victim surcharge of £100. Following the hearing, HSE inspector Wendy Campbell said: “This death would have been prevented had an effective system for managing load restraint been in place at both companies. This is a reminder to companies of the need to properly apply effective control measures when securing loads to minimise the risks from transporting goods on road vehicles.”