Truck driver fined after worker crushed in brick clamp
An experienced lorry loader operator has been ordered to pay £2,500 after a co-worker was crushed in the brick clamp of a loader and seriously injured.
In a Health and Safety Executive (HSE) investigation, Yeovil Magistrates’ Court was told how in November 2010, Mark Pratten, 53, an operator at Saint Gobain Building Distribution, trading as Jewson Builders Merchant, attempted to use a brick clamp on a truck crane to lift Peter Hoy, 47, a self-employed general builder off the roof of a cabin while he was collecting building materials from a construction site in Rode, Somerset.
The pallet of materials they were collecting was behind an eight foot wall and it was not possible to pick them up normally with the lorry crane that the men were using.
In trying to guide the crane into place Hoy climbed onto the roof of the cabin and to get down quickly Pratten tried to lift him with the grab of the crane.
Hoy walked between the arms of the clamp, which was at waist height, in preparation to gain a foot or hand hold. As he did so, Pratten attempted to move the arms.
However, he used the wrong switch and inadvertently operated the clamp button.
The arms clamped Hoy’s waist, fracturing his pelvis and causing crush-related internal injuries, including nerve damage. His injuries are so severe that he is still off work.
Pratten, who has now lost his job, pleaded guilty to breaching Section 7 of the Health and Safety at Work Act and was fined £1,500 with £1,000 costs.
