A London bus company was fined £60,000 following one of it's employees falling into a vehicle inspection pit and suffering spinal injuries
Garage owners have been
warned that they must have effective
Health and Safety measures
in place for preventing
accidents at work by
the Health and
Safety Executive (HSE). This follows the
prosecution of the London Central Bus Company
Limited after an employee received injuries to the
spine after
falling at work into a vehicle
inspection pit in October 2005.
The London Central Bus Company Limited pleaded
guilty to Section 2(1) of the Health and Safety at
Work Act etc 1974 which states that “it shall be the
duty of every employer to ensure, so far as it
reasonably practicable, the health, safety and
welfare at work of all his employees." They were
fined £60,000 and ordered to pay costs of £15,347 at
the Old Bailey.
This
accident at work happened when a bus chassis
cleaner decided to use a partial pit cover to cross
a vehicle inspection pit at the New Cross Bus
Garage. Sadly he fell into the pit suffering a
compression of the spine. As a result of these
workplace injuries his ability to work has been
severely affected.
In July 2004 an employee of the company died after
falling into an inspection pit in the same garage.
The company had failed to manage its health and
safety adequately after that incident, with
hazards
in the workplace identified by risk assessments not
having safety measures implemented. Effective
measures to prevent
falls at work were not taken.
The company also failed to provide adequate
information to its employees on risks and
prevention, or give sufficient
training or
supervision to prevent accidents injuring its
employees, and failing to ensure that employees were
working in a safe environment following the earlier
incident.
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