Corus Asked to Shell Out £240,000 for Death of Lorry Driver
Transnational steel-giant Corus has been penalised for the death of a lorry driver at its Staffordshire premises and has been asked to pay a fine of £240,000.
About three tones of steel plates fell on Ross Beddow at the company’s site in Wombourne, leading to a prosecution by HSE.
In addition to this, the steel giant has also been asked to shell out £112,500 after pleading guilty to violating Section 3(1) of the Health and Safety at Work etc. Act 1974.
On January 4 in the year 2007, Ronn Beddow, employed by A Hingley Transport Ltd, was trying to load steel plates on to a lorry. A crane carrying the three-ton pack of steel off a trailer was operated by another Corus employee. Unfortunately, the load was not kept on a level platform and fell on Ronn as it was being lifted off the trailer. The court heard the report on how he was crushed to death on the spot.
A preliminary investigation led by HSE revealed that the system of loading steel used by the firm was flawed. There was ample room for misunderstanding between the workers as the individual steps for loading steel had not been fully evaluated, the report further stated.
Dr Wai-Kin Liu, inspector for the HSE, said that the disaster could have been averted had all the individual steps of loading steel been fully analysed, and any errors or possible mishaps accounted for.
He admitted that although it was possible for anyone to make an error, despite being well trained and well intentioned, every employer must take the requisite steps to make sure that the overall safety system of work is error-free and completely safe. He added that Mr. Beddow would have not died such a tragic death had Corus been meticulous enough to check everything.
In contrast, Mr. Charles Feeny, lawyer for Corus, claimed that the system of work developed by Corus was quite safe, and that Corus had every reason to think that the system was error-free. He emphasised that Corus had carried out extensive risk assessment tests and that the system had been running smoothly for many years without incident. He, however, expressed his apology to Mr. Beddow’s family on behalf of Corus.
Companies need to be sure that they are giving the correct instructions to employees with regard to health and safety issues; an accredited IOSH course, by the Institution of Occupational Safety and Health, can assist companies in training staff to be aware of the proper health and safety procedures for all kinds of workplace situations.
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