COMPANY DIRECTOR JAILED AFTER EMPLOYEE CRUSHED TO DEATH – DAN THOMAS ACTS FOR HEALTH & SAFETY EXECUTIVE

The director of a Cheshire-based company has been jailed for 12 months following the death of one of his workers.

Kenneth Thelwall, a director of Winsford Industrial Estate-based Thorn Warehousing Ltd, was charged under the Health and Safety at Work Act, has been sentenced to 12 months in prison and ordered to pay costs of £4,000. He has also been disqualified from being a company director for seven years.

Thorn Warehousing, which was also charged under the Health and Safety at Work Act, has been fined £166,000 and ordered to pay £10,400 costs.

The male employee died when a remote-controlled Mobile Elevated Working Platform (MEWP) that he was loading onto a truck fell from the ramps and crushed him.

Manchester Crown Court heard that Williamson had not been adequately trained on the use of the ramps, the lorry and the MEWP. It was also reported that there was no risk assessment in place and no safe system of work had been created for the equipment, which had only been in operation for eight days. Moreover, the gradient of the ramps was above the manufacturer’s specification and the ramps were not secured to the lorry. As the MEWP was loaded onto the truck, it toppled off the ramps and onto the employee.

Dan Thomas was instructed by Peter Hayes of Fieldings Porter.