A site foreman and building company director have been fined a total of £20,000 after a labourer was killed when he fell from his truck. The man in question was driving for A & A Building Services when his vehicle fell down an embankment in Stoke-on-Trent on 31 August 2005. Foreman Paul Nolan and director Darren Atkins were responsible for safety on the City Park Trading Estate and were convicted of breaching the Health and Safety at Work Act 1974. Nolan was cleared of manslaughter after the 13-day trial. Both men had denied the charges.
The company itself was fined a total of £61,000 after they admitted breaching the Act. The court heard that the worker had been driving the nine-tonne dumper truck for two months, during which time he had been involved in two other accidents and had not received proper training. There were no safety bars in place or a trained "banks man" to stop the truck falling on the day of the accident. He had jumped from the vehicle after he lost control but was crushed on landing.
A joint investigation was launched by police and the Health and Safety Executive (HSE) following the incident. Detective Chief Inspector Phil Lee from Staffordshire Police said, "Our inquiries uncovered a catalogue of major health and safety flaws at the site that meant, unfortunately, the drivers death was a tragedy waiting to happen."
