Commercial fleet operator fined £255k after worker fractures skull

A transport company has been fined £255,000 after a worker fell from a lorry and fractured his skull.

The man, who was working as a delivery driver for B Taylor & Sons Transport, had been delivering glass to a customer when the incident occurred in Hinckley, Leicestershire on December 4, 2020.

As no forklift truck was available, the man was passing panes of glass from a stillage in the lorry to another worker on the ground.

The man then fell from the lorry, fracturing his skull, left hand, nose and right eye socket.

He also sustained two bleeds on the brain, a 12cm gash on his forehead and dislocated his right elbow.

He spent five days in hospital following the incident and has had to make significant adjustments to his day-to-day life.

The Health and Safety Executive (HSE) said that he struggles to carry out normal activities, including lifting moderate to heavy loads and carrying out DIY tasks in his home.

He also experiences pain on a daily basis as a result of his injuries and feels a lot of uncertainty about what the future holds.

An investigation by the HSE found that B Taylor & Sons Transport had failed to put in place appropriate control measures for unloading activities. Risks had not been considered and the work was being carried out unsafely.

HSE has issued guidance on loading and unloading vehicles safely. 

B Taylor & Sons Transpot, of Export Drive, Huthwaite, Sutton-in-Ashfield, Nottinghamshire, pleaded guilty to breaching Section 2(1) of the Health and Safety at Work etc. Act 1974.

The company was fined £255,000 and ordered to pay £3,687 in costs at Leicester Magistrates’ Court on 20 June 2023.

HSE inspector Nicholas Moreby said: “B Taylor & Sons Transport failed to proactively plan and manage health and safety.

“The fine imposed on them should underline to everyone in the transport industry that the courts, and HSE, take a failure to follow the regulations extremely seriously.

“We will not hesitate to take action against companies which do not do all that they should to keep people safe.”

This prosecution was supported by HSE enforcement lawyer Nathan Cook.

The Health and Safety Executive (HSE) is Britain’s national regulator for workplace health and safety.