A freight company based in Leeds has been fined £250,000, plus £100,000 costs, after a 59 year old worker was crushed to death by a case of glass. In Leeds Crown Court, Roadways Container Logistics Limited pleaded guilty to breaching the Health and Safety at Work Act 1974.
The incident occurred on 6 April 2006 when Alan Fletcher, an admin manager from Leeds, was unloading containers of glass from an open top freight container alongside two cargo handlers and a supervisor. Mr Fletcher was crushed as he tried to stop the two-tonne case from falling as it was lifted out of the container.
During the investigation by the Health and Safety Executive (HSE) it was found that the case had not been properly secured and none of the colleagues had been given the correct training in lifting operations, nor had a risk assessment or any formal planning been carried out before the incident.
Following the hearing, HSE Inspector Morag Irwin said, “This hearing highlights the importance of having an effective system in place for managing health and safety generally and specifically when lifting heavy goods, and I hope it serves as a warning to other companies.”
