Worker injured when mobile elevating work platform overturned

A construction company has been fined £20,000 after a worker was injured and the public put a risk, when one of its mobile elevating work platforms overturned.

Nottingham Magistrates Court heard that Shepherd Construction Lmited of York failed to put in place adequate measures to find and record man holes and service covers around the site at Trinity Square in central Nottingham.

The company pleaded guilty to breaching Section 3(1) of the Health and Safety at Work etc. Act 1974 for its role in the incident and were fined £20,000 and ordered to pay £6,900 costs.

The court heard how a contractor on the site drove a cherry picker over a concealed man hole cover on 30 August 2007. The cover could not hold the weight of the machine and caused the cherry picker to topple. The driver was left with serious injuries to his skull, back and legs.

During the fall, the long reaching arm of the machine crashed to the ground, landing in an area which had been occupied by pedestrians and vehicles moments before. The incident caused Milton Street in central Nottingham to be blocked off for almost six hours.

HSE Inspector Martin Giles commented: "This was a very dangerous incident, in an area which was bustling with pedestrians and vehicles. It could so easily have led to people being killed and has left a worker with serious injuries.

"The company failed to put in place adequate measures to find and record where the man holes and service covers were around the site and failed to take steps to protect them or prevent vehicles from driving over them.

"Operators of mobile elevating work platforms, such as scissor lifts and cherry pickers, must be warned about man hole covers and underground services because there is a real risk of them collapsing and heavy vehicles toppling over.

Inspector Giles concluded: "When peoples lives are at risk it is absolutely inexcusable to leave this to chance."

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