Egg worker killed in lorry crush tragedy

Chris Tindall
December 13, 2023

 

An egg company in Leicestershire has been fined £233,000 after one of its workers was crushed to death by an HGV attempting “a complex manoeuvre” at its Loughborough premises.

Sunrise Poultry Farms was found to have wholly inadequate measures in place for segregating pedestrians and moving vehicles following the death of 19-year-old Ben Spencer in April 2021.

Spencer had only been working at the company for two weeks when the incident occurred. According to the Health and Safety Executive (HSE), the lorry was undertaking a complex manoeuvre towards a narrow thoroughfare as the worker was walking towards it.

He was crushed between the vehicle and a wall.

Sunrise Poultry Farms pleaded guilty to breaching the Workplace (Health, Safety and Welfare) Regulations and as well as the fine, it was ordered to pay costs of £8,841 at a hearing in Leicester Magistrates’ Court this week.

HSE inspector Alex Nayar said: “Our thoughts today are with Ben’s family and friends.

“He was at the start of his working life. He should have returned home safely to them at the end of his working day, but because of the failings of Sunrise Poultry Farms, he did not.

“Ben’s death could have easily been prevented if they had adequately assessed and controlled the risks associated with workplace transport, a leading cause of death in the workplace.”

About the Author

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Chris Tindall

Chris Tindall started writing for the haulage and logistics industry in 2002 and has covered a broad range of significant issues, including GPS jamming by criminals, platooning and Brexit.

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