Welsh landfill company Sundorne Products (Llanidloes) Limited, part of the Potter Group, has been handed a £180,000 fine after one of its workers had to have both legs amputated after being run over.
Mold Crown Court heard last week how 65-year-old Emrys Hughes was walking across the yard at Bryn Posteg Landfill site in Llandidloes, in the Welsh county of Powys, on 6 November 2015 when he was struck by a large shovel loader.
According to the prosecution, the vehicle was speeding up to load refuse and Hughes, who was in the vehicle’s blind spot, was hit with significant force. As a result of the collision Hughes had to have both legs amputated above the knee and remained in hospital for six months.
A subsequent Health and Safety Executive (HSE) investigation concluded the company did not have adequate safeguards and controls in place to protect workers in the midst of the high number of vehicles and volume of traffic on the site. The yard had no system for separating pedestrians and moving vehicles and an absence of pedestrian walkways.
Previous risk evaluations had identified risks, but no measures had been put in place by the company to mitigate against them.
Directors James and Debbie Potter, who represented the firm in court, claimed they thought they were dealing with health and safety in an appropriate manner, citing the lack of previous accidents at the site and that the HSE had investigated the site previously and not brought any issues to their attention.
However, Sundorne pleaded guilty ‘at an early stage’ to breaching Section 2 and Section 3 of the Health and Safety at Work (1974) Act and received a fine of £180,000, as well as costs of £7,657.
On the case, HSE inspector Mhairi Duffy said, “It is extremely important to identify how to protect your workers but you must back this up with action. This worker’s and his family’s lives have been changed forever because Sundorne Products Ltd failed to take action and protect their workers from being run over by vehicles on the site.
“All businesses that have high volumes of vehicles on their site can learn from this case.”
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