£100k fine for waste company after worker loses leg

A waste and recycling company where a worker was struck by an excavator and lost his leg have been fined over £100,000 for health and safety failures.

The man involved, a 41-year-old Romanian, was an employee of Pink Skips (NW) Ltd, sorting refuse at their Levenshulme site when the incident happened on 5 October 2022.

Working with two other colleagues, the man was behind a 360-excavator that was operating close by. CCTV footage showed the excavator suddenly reversing, striking the man and running over his leg.

His injury was severe enough that the leg had to be amputated above the knee. A father and grandfather, the man now cannot work and still suffers from considerable pain.

Investigating the incident, the Health and Safety Executive (HSE) found that Pink Skips (NW) Ltd had failed to adequately segregate pedestrians and vehicles.

Hand picking close to the excavator was a regular occurrence, the HSE found. A written safe system of work did exist, stating that operatives were not to work within the swing reach area of the excavator, that barriers should be placed between operatives and machines at all times, and that banksmen should be used.

In practice, however, these measures were not observed, and there was no monitoring in place to check whether safe systems of work were observed or not.

The company pleaded guilty to breaching regulation 2(1) of the Health and Safety at Work etc Act 1974. It was fined £106,700 and ordered to pay £5,744 costs at a hearing at Manchester Magistrates’ Court on 7 August 2024.

Speaking after the hearing, HSE Inspector Lisa Bailey said:

“The company failed to segregate pedestrians and vehicles or put in place a safe system of work for its hand sorting and picking activities, thereby exposing employees, to the risk of being struck by workplace vehicles.

“The injuries sustained here have been truly life-changing.”

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