News Article

Boulder hit unprotected worker


Posted by Chris Owen | Date Posted 27.05.2008 | Time Posted 14:33:00 | Views: 369

A boulder weighing 30kg fell from a screener, striking a worker who was not wearing head protection, and causing him severe head injuries.

Bromsgrove and Redditch magistrates fined Wildmoor Quarry Products £5000 with £3250 full costs on 23 April, after it pleaded guilty to a breach of s2(1) of HSWA 1974 by not ensuring the employee’s safety.

Ian Williamson, the HSE inspector who investigated and prosecuted the case, told SHP it was unclear how the boulder got into the screener at the quarry in Bromsgrove, Worcestershire, on 21 March 2007.

The inspector explained that in the grading process, raw sandstone is put through mesh screens, which sieve out different sizes of sandstone and grade the product. In this case, the mesh screen was damaged on one of the two machines on site, as it had not been properly maintained, and because this machine had broken down, the sandstone was put through a second machine, which did not have a mesh screen.

The inspector described the boulder, which measured 350 x 250 x 200mm, as “like a bag of cement” in weight. The employee sustained a fractured skull and blood clots to the brain, and remained unconscious for three days.

In mitigation the company expressed remorse. It cooperated with the HSE and had no previous safety convictions.

But the court heard that although a director of the company had been on the site, he did not monitor the wearing of hard hats.

Inspector Williamson said: “A quarry is one of the most dangerous environments and working there calls for vigilance by employers and workers alike.”


Published in sections: Health and Safety ::

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