Personal injury news
03/02/2012

Worker suffers severe crush injures in crane accident

Two companies have been successfully prosecuted by the Health and Safety Executive (HSE) after an employee suffered personal injuries when a 13kg weight dropped on his foot in an accident at work.

The 19-year-old mechanical fitter from Scunthorpe in Yorkshire had been working with a colleague to control a 21-tonne crane when the work accident took place. As the men used the steering mechanism the counter-balance chain detached itself from the crane and fell down towards them.

The teenager fell into his colleague and knocked him out of the way but unfortunately the weight fell down onto him. The accident left him with a fractured foot despite wearing safety boots at the time.

The employer of the injured worker and the company responsible for maintaining the cranes were both prosecuted by the HSE after an investigation revealed that the weight had not been sufficiently secured and that the crane had missed two of its regular services. It was later revealed that three other cranes were faulty and had not been recently serviced.

Both companies appeared at Selby Magistrates' Court where they were fined £13,300 each and ordered to pay costs of £3,151 as a result of the accident at work.