Shipbuilding Company Sentenced for Health and Safety Violations
A shipbuilding company located in Merseyside has been prosecuted and fined for a death of one employee. A forklift truck trapped the welder. The worker was injured in 2010. The injuries he sustained during the incident in which a heavy welding truck pinned him led to his death four days later. Cammell Laird Shiprepairers and Shipbuilders were prosecuted for health and safety risks to their employees, and specifically for Robert Dunroe’s death.
During health and safety audits of the incident, the HSE found the company allowed the employee to drive the truck despite not having any training. The employee was 62 at the time of his death. He was crushed between a truck and the lifting beam at the Campeltown Road plant. An employee onsite acted quickly getting the other employee unpinned by throwing the truck in reverse; however, it was not enough to save the individual from death. The court was told about the incident where keys for the forklifts were left in the ignition. The unfortunate employee had driven the truck several times without anyone challenging his qualifications to do so. It was also found the procedures in place did not adequately cover who could or could not drive the forklifts. The incident has cost the company £120,000 in fines alone due to the safety risks on the premises. Another employee of the factory had recently retired and was a friend of the injured party. He was at the court hearing for the case.
