Liverpool Magistrates’ Court heard how on the 7th of September 2016, an agency HGV driver was working for Jenkins Shipping Company Limited when he was struck by a paper reel that was being loaded on to his trailer. The reel had slipped from the clamp attachment of the fork lift truck being used to load the reels, resulting in them hitting the driver’s lower body and legs. He was taken to hospital were he had suffered several lower limb fractures.
It was later found, due to an investigation led by the Health and Safety Executive (HSE), that HGV drivers working for Jenkins Shipping Company Ltd often helped with loading operations by either holding the curtain of the HGV trailer or strapping the reels ready for transit, placing the workers either near the drop zone or by the moving vehicles. Proving that the company had failed to have a safe system of work to keep individuals and vehicles separate during loading operations.
A fine of £30,000 and costs of £7,306.16 was ordered to Jenkins Shipping Company Limited of West Bank Road, Belfast, after they pleaded guilty to breaching Section 2(1) and 3(1) of the Health and Safety at Work Etc. Act 1974.
HSE inspector Catherine Lyon said after the hearing: “By ensuring a suitable safe system of work was in place and implemented, the life changing injuries sustained by the HGV driver could have been avoided. Suitable safe systems include ensuring that pedestrians are located in a safe area, away from moving vehicles and falling loads. “
