Firm fined after death of worker

Aug 25 2011 by Alistair Watson, West Lothian Courier

A WEST Lothian firm have been fined £100,000 after a “dedicated” worker was killed when he was hit by a forklift truck.

Father-of-two George Hardie, 60, from Livingston, was run over by a forklift truck as he crossed a yard at Halls of Broxburn.

As he was walking, a colleague was driving a forklift carrying two large empty containers across the yard to be washed.

Although Mr Hardie was wearing a high visibility jacket, the driver couldn’t see him because of a blind spot created by boxes stacked on the front of the forklift as the top of the load was approximately 160cm from the ground.

The conscientious employee had been doing his workmates a favour by dropping off invoices before he started his holidays the following day.

Dutch food giants Vion Food Scotland Limited were fined £100,000 for Health and Safety failings which resulted in the fatal accident at their West Lothian plant in June 2009.

The firm, which took over Scottish company Grampian Country Pork Halls Ltd in 2008, admitted failing to carry out proper risk assessments, failing to segregate pedestrians and vehicles and failing to make safe arrangements for the movement of storage boxes.

Maureen McGovern, prosecuting, said the forklift driver was moving two boxes 200 yards outside the factory.

But the containers were stacked in a way that created a blind spot which prevented the driver seeing what was in his path.

She said: “There was no footpath or designated walkway which Mr Hardie could follow. As the forklift driver moved forward he felt the forklift truck go over something.

“He climbed out and saw that from the waist down Mr Hardie’s body had been trapped underneath between the front wheel arch and the undercarriage.”

Ms McGovern said staff, including a trained first aider, rushed to help, but Mr Hardie was not breathing.

Other workers used a second forklift to lift the vehicle’s weight off him and ambulance and fire rescue services were called.

Specialist lifting gear was used to remove the forklift, but Mr Hardie, had suffered massive crushing injuries to his chest, pelvis and legs. He was pronounced dead on arrival at hospital.

A post mortem found he had suffered huge trauma and multiple fractures to the lower half of his body.

Defence advocate Gavin Anderson said Mr Hardie had been a very able, experienced and dedicated employee who was highly regarded by his workmates and his bosses.

He said: “I take this opportunity to express publicly that which has already been expressed privately to the Hardie family, namely the very deep regret which all involved in the running of the company feel about the incident which occurred.

“The company still at Broxburn continue to observe a minute’s silence on the anniversary of the incident and there’s a memorial plaque to Mr Hardie’s memory at reception.

“The company accept that it was their responsibility to ensure appropriate supervision was given and it’s accepted that the company fell short in that regard.”

Passing sentence, Sheriff Donald Ferguson said Mr Hardie had worked at the factory for 16 years.

He said: “His sudden and, in my view, quite unnecessary death as a result of this accident can only have had a devastating effect on his family.

“I regard this as a serious breach, probably towards the upper end of the scale. In my view the company’s failings in this case merit a very significant fine.”

Outside court, Mr Hardie’s son Stuart, 35, said: “We are satisfied with the outcome of the case.”

His widow Anne, 62, added: “I’m glad that they have taken action to ensure that nothing like this happens again.”

After the hearing, HSE Inspector Peter Dodd said: “If Vion Foods Scotland Ltd had taken simple steps to keep their employees safe, Mr Hardie would still be alive today.

“Forklifts were being moved around the yard with loads that meant the drivers could not clearly see where they were going. At the same time, employees were walking through the same yard, with no separation between them and the traffic, and no more protection than a high visibility jacket.

“The company should have taken steps to make sure the containers were being moved in a safe way, and managed the traffic in the yard so that people and vehicles were not sharing the same space.”