Companies fined over dumper accident

Two companies have received fines from the Health and Safety Executive (HSE) after an employee broke his hip in an accident.

A worker suffered injuries after the dumper he was driving overturned and he was forced to jump for safety.

He was off work for a number of months following the accident.

Bellway Homes, which runs the site, is being fined £20,000 plus £11,000 costs, while FG Construction (Nottingham), which was in charge of the work being performed on the site paid £31,000.

An inspector for the HSE Stephen Hargreaves claims the companies failed to separate paths for pedestrians and vehicles.

He says this led to the vehicle driving into an excavation on site and warns the driver’s injuries could have been much more serious.

"There are many avoidable deaths and serious injuries every year because of poor planning of site transport and the failure to adequately segregate site works from moving plant works," Mr Hargreaves states.

In the last 25 years, the organisation claims 2,800 people have died while working on construction sites.