Two companies have been fined £115,000 for breaching health and safety legislation after an employee suffered serious head injuries after being struck by a car leaving the premises of Rigid Containers in Desborough in February 2006. The 56 year old security officer who had not been issued with a high-visibility vest and torch, was checking a HGV leaving the site when he was hit by an employee's car that was also leaving the site through a different security barrier.
Rigid Containers and G4S Security Services Ltd both pleaded guilty at Northampton Crown Court to breaching the Health and Safety at Work etc. Act 1974 and the Management of Health and Safety at Work Regulations SI 1999/3242, and were fined £65,000 and £50,000 respectively. Health and Safety inspector David Welsh said, "This incident showed all the classic signs of a workplace transport collision between a vehicle and a pedestrian. There was no separation of vehicles and pedestrians at Rigid's main entrance, the area where the accident occurred was poorly lit and road signs and markings to direct traffic were insufficient."
The two companies had jointly agreed the system of work used by the security officers, but it was found that the plan did not make proper arrangements for controlling the operation of vehicle barriers and the sequencing of traffic on to and off site. The problems were made worse when Rigid Containers redesigned the main entrance to the factory in 2005, without making a proper risk assessment of what the effect of the changes would be.
