On 10 February 2015, 19-year-old Ben Pallier-Singleton died after the fork lift truck (FLT) he was driving down a sloping roadway at night time overturned at his employer's site in Chinley, Derbyshire. Although Ben was not wearing a seatbelt at the time, his employer Vinyl Compound- a waste management company based in Derbyshire- did not train him properly, as found by the Health and Safety Executive (HSE). Vinyl Compound have been held liable and hence had to pay a £450,000 fine and a costs total of £71,778,20.
After the sentencing hearing, Ben's devastated mother, described Ben as the "shining light" of their family, only at "the start of his life". HSE inspector Brian Price explained that the fatal incident could have been avoided, had the company adequately trained staff, put sufficient lighting or edge protection in place, informed employees of the on-site speed limit, and put speed control measures in place. Price describes Ben's death as "needless"; a direct result of Vinyl Compound's failures.
Vinyl Compound pleaded guilty to a breach of the Management of Health and Safety at Work Regulations SI 1999/3242, and the Health and Safety at Work Act 1974.
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