Worker suffers a broken leg and back injuries after a falling beam hits him

A crane operative was seriously injured when a raft of beams he was lifting snagged causing one to fall an hit him  - 30th September 2008

 

Corus UK Ltd has been prosecuted after a workplace accident in which a beam fell from an electro-magnetic crane causing the operator serious injuries.

This accident at work happened to the worker on the 27th April 2007 whilst he was using a remote control crane with a magnetic attachment to lift a raft of beams. One of the beams caught on the side of the building and fell, hitting the operator and causing him to suffer serious back injuries and a broken leg resulting in him being off work for months.

Corus UK Ltd pleaded guilty at Hartlepool Magistrates' Court to breaching section 2(1) of the Health and Safety at Work Act etc 1974 which states: “It shall be the duty of every employer to ensure, so far as is reasonably practicable, the health, safety and welfare at work of all his employees.” They were fined £15,000 and ordered to pay £6,248 in costs.

A Health and Safety Executive (HSE) inspector said: "Electro-magnetic attachments to cranes can reduce certain risks, such as having to climb onto loads to sling and release the load. However, these magnets can drop their loads for a number of reasons and it is important that no one is anywhere near the suspended load until it is in a safe position. In this case the combination of the length of the steel beams and the site layout meant there was no safe operating position. The problems with magnetic cranes were well known at Corus and an alternative way of working should have been found to protect both the operator and other workers in the area."