Jenkins Shipping fined after driver injured

Jenkins Shipping Company has been fined after a heavy goods vehicle (HGV) driver was struck by a paper reel being loaded on to his trailer.

Liverpool Magistrates’ Court heard how, on September 7, 2016, an agency HGV driver working for Jenkins Shipping Company at its Liverpool depot, was assisting in the loading of paper reels onto his HGV trailer.

A reel slipped from the clamp attachment of the fork lift truck being used to load the reels striking the driver’s lower body and legs. He sustained several lower limb fractures.

An investigation by the Health and Safety Executive (HSE) found that HGV drivers working for Jenkins Shipping Company regularly assisted with loading operations by either holding back the curtain of the HGV trailer or strapping the reels ready for transit, placing individuals either near the drop zone or moving vehicles.

The company failed to have a safe system of work in place to keep pedestrians and vehicles separate during loading operations, said the HSE.

Jenkins Shipping Company of West Bank Road, Belfast, pleaded guilty to breaching sections 2(1) and 3(1) of the Health and Safety at Work etc. Act 1974.

The company was fined £30,000 and ordered to pay costs of £7,306.16.

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. “

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

More about the legislation referred to in this case can be found at: www.legislation.gov.uk/.

More information about workplace transport safety can be found at: http://www.hse.gov.uk/pubns/priced/hsg136.pdf.