A Livingston firm has been fined £100,000 after a worker was killed when he was hit by a forklift truck so badly loaded its driver could not see him.

George Hardie, 60, from Livingston, was walking across the yard at Vion Food Scotland Ltd in Broxburn, West Lothian, on 2 June 2009 to drop paperwork off at another part of the site.

As he was walking, a colleague was driving a forklift carrying two large empty containers across the yard to be washed.

The containers were stacked on top of each other on the front of the forklift, and the top of the load was approximately 160cm from the ground, making it hard for the driver to see over them.

As the driver approached the container wash, he felt his truck go over something, stopped, climbed out and saw Mr Hardie lying on his back, with the lower half of his body trapped underneath the forklift.

Colleagues attempted to help Mr Hardie before the emergency services arrived. Fire crews freed Mr Hardie, but when paramedics treated him they found he was not breathing and there were no signs of life. He was taken to the New Edinburgh Royal Infirmary, but was found to be dead on arrival.

A Health and Safety Executive (HSE) investigation found that Vion Foods Scotland Ltd had not properly assessed the risks of moving the containers around the yard or made arrangements to make sure the containers were moved in a safe way. The investigation also found the company did not have a safe traffic management system or adequate supervision in place to keep pedestrians away from vehicles.

After the hearing, HSE Inspector Peter Dodd said:

"If Vion Foods Scotland Ltd had taken simple steps to keep their employees safe, Mr Hardie would still be alive today.

"Forklifts were being moved around the yard with loads that meant the drivers could not clearly see where they were going. At the same time, employees were walking through the same yard, with no separation between them and the traffic, and no more protection than a high visibility jacket.

"The company should have taken steps to make sure the containers were being moved in a safe way, and managed the traffic in the yard so that people and vehicles were not sharing the same space."

At Livingston Sheriff Court today (18 August 2011) Vion Food Scotland Limited of Kirkton Campus, Livingston, pleaded guilty to breaking Section 2 of the Health and Safety at Work etc Act 1974 and were fined £100,000.

Notes to editors:

1. The Health and Safety Executive is Britain's national regulator for workplace health and safety. It aims to prevent death, injury and ill health. It does so through research, information and advice, promoting training, new or revised regulations and codes of practice, and working with local authority partners by inspection, investigation and enforcement. www.hse.gov.uk
2. In Scotland the Crown Office and Procurator Fiscal Service has sole responsibility for the raising of criminal proceedings for breaches of health and safety legislation.
3. Section 2(1) of the Health and Safety at Work etc Act 1974 states that "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."
4. HSE statistics can be found at www.hse.gov.uk/statistics

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A farm operator has been fined £112,500 after a worker was crushed to death in a potato harvesting machine in Fife.

Keith Wannan died en-route to hospital after he was pulled from the machine, where he had been stuck for up to 30 minutes, at Foodie Farm near Cupar.

The 34-year-old, from Cupar, had been carrying out an annual maintenance check on 6 September 2009.

Farm operators GJ Orr admitted failings in its health and safety regime had contributed to the accident.

Fiscal depute Sally Clark told Cupar Sheriff Court the father-of-two was employed to carry out general farm duties, along with most of the repair and maintenance work on the farm.

He had been testing the harvester machinery when he became entangled within rollers, sustaining multiple injuries.

It is thought he had been trapped for up to 30 minutes when he was discovered by George Orr, one of the partners in the farm.

Miss Clark said Mr Wannan's head and a hand were visible, but that the rest of his body had been trapped below the rollers.
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An air ambulance was called out, but Mr Wannan was pronounced dead during the flight to Ninewells Hospital in Dundee.

Miss Clark said the Health and Safety Executive had found that maintenance work should only have been carried out while power to the harvester was isolated, and that the work should not have been done by a lone worker.

The company's solicitor said Mr Wannan had worked at the farm for almost 14 years and was a "family friend".

"My clients would like to send their condolences to Mr Wannan's family for their horrific loss," she said.

"This was not a breach that lasted a long period of time, it was a one-off with horrific consequences."

Sheriff Charles Macnair said: "This was a breach which resulted in the very sad death of an experienced employee.

"It's not clear how it came to be that Mr Wannan was involved in this unfortunate accident.

"It may be that as a loyal employee he took a risk in order to help his employer by going further than was strictly necessary, but that's just speculation."

No-one from GJ Orr commented as they left court.

Lion Steel Equipment Ltd is first medium-sized firm to face charges.

Three company bosses will face manslaughter charges next year – four years after the death of a worker.

Dad-of-two Steven Berry fell through the roof of an industrial unit while working at the Hyde premises of Lion Steel in May 2008.

The 45-year-old, from Swinton, was rushed to Tameside Hospital following the incident at Johnson Brook Road, but died of his injuries.

Three of Lion Steel’s directors will go on trial at Manchester Crown Court next June, accused of being responsible for his death.

Kevin Palliser, 59, of Risworth Rise, Shaw, Richard Vaughan Williams, 42, of Priory Close, Hawarden in Clwyd and Graham Coupe, 59, of Hampshire Close, Glossop, are charged with gross negligence manslaughter. The company itself is charged with corporate manslaughter, while the directors and the company are both charged with failing to secure the safety of employees.

The three men appeared at Manchester Crown Court for a preliminary hearing where a trial date of June 12 was set.

The men spoke only to confirm their names during the hearing, and are expected to come back to court on December 8 when they will formally enter pleas.

The charges follow lengthy police and Health and Safety Executive investigations.

Alison Storey, reviewing lawyer for the Crown Prosecution Service, said: "I have taken this decision after very carefully reviewing the material gathered in the police investigation."