Severfield fined £135,000 for worker death

Steelwork contractor Severfield has been fined £135,000 following the death of a forklift truck driver.

The incident dates back to March 2013 when 27-year-old Kelvin McGibbon was injured after reversing a truck and not wearing a seatbelt, when it struck steps and overturned. McGibbon suffered crush injuries which proved fatal.

Teeside Crown Court found that offence to which the company pleaded guilty was not a significant cause of the fatal accident. Severfield pleaded guilty to a non-causative breach of regulation and was fined £135,000 and ordered to pay costs of £46,020.

However, the court heard that Severfield did not enforce the wearing of seat belts or control the speed at which some FLT operators drove their trucks.

It was reported that employees, including McGibbon, had often driven the diesel-powered vehicles at high speeds, operated them while chatting on mobile phones and even leapt from them while they were still moving.

Judge Anthony Briggs said while Severfield had made clear efforts to ensure the safety of its staff, it had had a blind spot over the enforcement of wearing seat belts on forklift trucks.

He said he believed the fine, which he reduced from £300,000 after finding Severfield had taken steps to improve safety and had no previous convictions, would serve as a warning to other firms.

HSE inspector David Welsh said after the hearing: “A company has a legal duty for the health and safety of people working on its site, whether they are employees or not.

“They are required to assess risks, eliminate them where possible and enforce proper control measures, such as seat belt wear, by checking that safe driving practices are being followed to deal with the risks that remain.

“Sadly, in this case, the prosecution shows that the company’s management of FLT driving operations and risk control measures failed with tragic consequences for Mr McGibbon and his family.”