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Roger Daw, aged 58, was operating a fully loaded front tipping dumper on his employer’s site in Liskey Hill, Perranporth. He drove the dumper down an incline. It overbalanced and rolled over.
Mr Daw, who appears to have not been wearing a seatbelt, was thrown from the vehicle, which then landed on his legs. He was airlifted to hospital where they had to amputate both of his legs at the knee.
Truro Crown Court heard that there were a number of failings that led to the incident, according to the Health & Safety Executive investigation. The specific type of truck being used by Mr Daw was not appropriate for the task but no-one on site had assessed the plant equipment’s limitations. The company had also not carried out an assessment for any of its drivers or their competence in using the plant equipment.
MJL Contractors Ltd of Water Ma Trout Industrial Estate, Helston Cornwall, pleaded guilty to breaching Section 2 (1) Health and Safety at Work etc. Act 1974. It was fined £200,000 and ordered to pay costs of £12,312.56.
HSE inspector Jo-Anne Michael said “Roger Daw’s life has been changed forever. If MJL Contractors Ltd had planned the work properly, assessed the equipment and the drivers this incident would not have happened. Companies must learn that risk assessments are there to protect their workers from the real risk that mobile plant can become unstable.”
MJL Contractors, run by Matthew James Lugg, made £2m profit on £30m turnover in 2015.
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