Health & Safety Update - January 2010
£400,000 FINE FOR MAN CRUSHED TO DEATH
The Health and Safety Executive prosecuted Centrewest London Buses Limited, for breach of the Health and Safety at Work etc Act 1974 just before Christmas at Southwark Crown Court.
A bus company employee was preparing one of the buses at the Uxbridge bus garage. As he stepped in between two parked buses, the front bus moved backwards crushing him against the other stationary bus.The Health and Safety Inspector said that, “the Company’s traffic management system was poor and its processes for maintaining vehicles and for identifying and repairing defects were inadequate.”
In view of the Health and Safety Inspector’s comments, it is surprising that the bus company was not prosecuted under the Corporate Manslaughter Act, but the incident took place on 18 May 2004 before the Act had come into force. If the same circumstances had arisen last year, then it might have been a reasonable expectation to have seen a prosecution under the Corporate Manslaughter Act.
Despite the comments of the bus company’s managing director that, “the safety and security of our staff and passengers is our highest priority” - the accident still happened.
If your business involves the traffic management of vehicles perhaps now would be a good time to review the risk assessments.
For further details, or to discuss, please contact:
Raymond Joyce
Telephone: 0845 634 2578
Email: raymond.joyce@freethcartwright.co.uk
Lisa Gilligan
Telephone: 0845 272 5723
Email: lisa.gilligan@freethcartwright.co.uk