M6 Commercials fined £20,000 after apprentice suffered fractured skull

A Birmingham-based motor vehicle company has been fined £20,000 after an apprentice mechanic suffered a fractured skull as he worked on a commercial vehicle trailer.

Birmingham Magistrates’ Court heard how the Central England Municipals Limited (CEML) apprentice was working alongside an experienced mechanic replacing air suspension bags beneath the trailer.

The air suspension bag was still under pressure and ejected sideways, striking the apprentice. The employee suffered a fractured skull and was placed in an induced coma as a result.

An investigation by the Health and Safety Executive (HSE) into the accident, which happened last June, found there was a failure to assess risk, a failure to implement a safe system of work and a failure to ensure that employees were appropriately trained and monitored to ensure the task could be carried out safely.

Central England Municipals Limited (trading as M6 Commercials) of Nechells, Birmingham pleaded guilty to breaching Section 2(1) of the Health and Safety at Work etc Act 1974 and has been fined £20,000 and ordered to pay costs of £921.40.

Speaking after the case HSE inspector Christopher Maher said: “If a suitable safe system of work has been in place prior to the incident, the life changing injuries sustained by the employee could have been prevented.”