A major UK construction company has been fined £185,000 after an Oldham worker suffered life-threatening injuries when he was run over by a reversing truck. The Health and Safety Executive (HSE) prosecuted Carillion JM Ltd following the incident at the Kingsway Business Park in Rochdale, on 11 November 2008.
A Ford Transit van was reversing on the construction site when it hit Michael Gresty, who was helping to build a new track around a large pond at the site at the time. The 56-year old was in hospital for four weeks following the incident and is unlikely to ever return to work due to the extent of his injuries. He lost his left kidney, broke seven ribs, his left shoulder and right foot, fractured his spine, dislocated his right hip and required a pin through his right knee. He has lost one inch in height, has four needles in his spine and still suffers constant pain in his back and ribs more than a year later.
The court heard that nobody was responsible for guiding the truck, which regularly reversed up to 400 metres to drop off construction materials for the project. A pedestrian walkway to separate vehicles from pedestrians had also not been marked on the track. Carillion pleaded guilty to breaching both the Health and Safety at Work etc Act 1974 and the Management of Health and Safety at Work Regulations SI 1999/3242, with regard to failing to ensure the safety of workers and failing to carry out a suitable risk assessment, respectively.
HSE inspector Neil Martin said, "Michael Gresty is lucky to be alive following this very serious incident and he will never fully recover. His injuries could easily have been prevented if Carillion had followed basic health and safety procedures. It is not acceptable that a construction company, which employs 50,000 people around the world, did not carry out the right risk assessment or put a system in place for preventing collisions."
