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Kier MG fined £160k for skip crush incident

9 Jan 15 Kier subsidiary May Gurney has been fined £160,000 after an employee was crushed by a skip at a site in Essex.

The 29-year-old worker was caught between the skip loader truck and the skip he was preparing for pick-up at what was then the May Gurney household waste recycling centre in Canvey Island on 26th January 2013. (May Gurney was acquired by Kier six months later.)

The skip loader was manoeuvring into position for the pick-up but struck the worker as it was being driven through a narrow route between the full skip and a fence.

The man suffered life-threatening injuries, with numerous broken bones and two collapsed lungs. He was put into an induced coma for three days and was in hospital for 17 days. He is still unable to return to work.

The Health & Safety Executive (HSE) prosecuted Kier MG Ltd at Chelmsford Crown Court on 8th January 2015 after an investigation found that the company lacked procedures to keep workers away from vehicles moving around the site. It had strict measures to segregate visitors from moving vehicles but had not extended these to ensure the safety of its own employees.

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Kier MG Ltd, of Tempsford Hall, Sandy, Bedfordshire, was fined a total of £160,000 and ordered to pay costs of £9,809 after pleading guilty to breaching Section 2(1) of the Health and Safety at Work etc. 1974 Act and a breach of Regulation 17(1) of the Workplace (Health, Safety and Welfare) Regulations 1992.

HSE inspector Edward Crick said after the hearing: “This was an entirely preventable incident caused by Kier MG Ltd’s failure to recognise the hazards to workers arising from skip loading operations at their Canvey Island recycling centre, despite tackling the hazards to members of the public.

“The consequences of this were devastating for a young man, who will now have to cope with life-changing injuries for the rest of his life.

“The risks to pedestrians when they are near operating work vehicles are very serious, but also well-known within industry. There is no excuse, therefore, for companies to disregard vital elements of workplace safety.”

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