Steel company fined £62,000 after driver crushed in loading accident

A steel fabricator has been fined after a driver was killed when he was knocked off his truck and crushed by a three-tonne load of steel tubes.

The incident, which took place at Daver Steel’s site in Petre Street, Sheffield in December 2012, saw visiting delivery driver Robert Ismay fatally wounded when steel tubes were being unloaded from his vehicle from the road opposite its premises.

A forklift driver was told to lift the tubes from the vehicle, but the forks’ reach was too short and when raised, the tubes fell off and struck Ismay, who was pushed off the trailer and hit by the falling load.

In a case bought by the Health and Safety Executive (HSE) on 17 April, Daver Steels was fined £62,000 with £38,000 costs at Sheffield Crown Court for breaching the Health and Safety at Work Act.

The court was told that Daver Steels made no checks to see what was to be offloaded or how the vehicle should be positioned.

An HSE investigation also found that the company had not assessed the risks associated with loading and unloading, so had no safe system in place. It had also not provided instructions or sufficient training to staff.

HSE said the company should have had the truck parked in a loading bay and used a crane to unload the steel.

HSE inspector Chris Gallagher said: “There was a series of safety failings by Daver Steels in this case. Key was its failure to put in place adequate control measures, which includes the provision of suitable instructions to employees and visiting workers so such tasks could be completed safely.

“Daver Steels should have taken responsibility for the driver’s safety and the delivery and unloading operation. Companies that receive deliveries to their premises have a duty to ensure that any unloading operation is carried out in a safe manner,” he added.