Safety Signs News

Worker loses leg in avoidable accident

24th December 2013 | Warning Signs

A groundworks company has been prosecuted and fined due to a preventable incident, which caused an employee’s leg to be amputated.

Gregor Steele, the 20-year-old employee of Gallagher Groundworks, was working on the construction of a wind farm in Perth and Kinross when his left leg became caught between a tractor and the bucket of a loading shovel.

Mr Steele was using the tractor to empty a water bowser. He had secured it using a handbrake that, unbeknownst to him, had been disabled five months previously. As such, the vehicle rolled backwards, crushing his leg.

He was airlifted to hospital, but after two operations his leg had to be amputated. The Health and Safety Executive determined that the accident could have easily been prevented.

Gallagher Groundworks had not assessed the risks of using the tractor, or performed any checks to ensure the vehicle was safe for work. As such, the firm completely missed the warning signs of this accident.

The company pleaded guilty to breaching Section 2(1) of the Health and Safety at Work etc Act 1974, and was fined £32,000.ADNFCR-2754-ID-801675953-ADNFCR

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