A manufacturing company has been fined £80,000 after a visiting HGV driver sustained a brain injury when he fell from a trailer during loading operations at a site in County Durham.
Graham Davis, 65, a Class 1 driver employed by Dobbs Logistics, was delivering and collecting goods for Penn Elcom on 18 November 2024 when the incident occurred.
During the loading process, Davis was manually moving cages to and from the cage carrier. When one wheel of a cage became stuck, the cage fell and the drier stepped backwards, falling from the trailer.
He suffered a brain injury and multiple fractures. He has been unable to work since the incident.
An investigation by the Health and Safety Executive (HSE) found that Penn Elcom failed to ensure the health, safety and welfare of employees and visiting workers by not having suitable and sufficient measures in place to prevent falls from height during loading and unloading operations.
The company pleaded guilty to breaching the Health and Safety at Work etc. Act and was fined £80,000 and ordered to pay £4537.32 in costs at South Tyneside Magistrates’ Court.
HSE inspector Beth Chapman said: “Employers must take effective measures to prevent falls during loading and unloading, either by avoiding work at height altogether or by using appropriate equipment and safe systems of work.”
