An employer was fined after a self-employed lorry driver was killed making a routine delivery of recycled wood.
Ayr Sheriff Court heard that the driver Kenneth Aitchison was struck by a wheeled shovel loader, whilst standing on open ground at the rear of the trailer of his articulated vehicle. The incident occurred in the yard at their Auchinleck premises in Scotland.
The Health & Safety Executive revealed that the company’s risk assessments for workplace transport were not sufficient or suitable. The company failed to implement appropriate measures to control the risks, including designated pedestrian walkways. This resulted in the failure to identify that pedestrians, including delivery drivers, were at risk of being struck by moving vehicles in the yard, despite the high level of vehicle movements and previous near misses.
Egger (UK) Limited of Technology House, Goldsworth Road, Woking pleaded guilty to breaching Sections 2(1) and Section 3(1) of the Health and Safety at Work Act etc 1974 and was fined £910,000.
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