Firms fined over foot-trap horror

THIS frame fell and injured a worker’s leg

A FACTORY worker had part of his left leg removed by surgeons after being struck by a metal frame weighing more than three quarters of a ton, a court heard.

Vincent Sutton (49), from Mossley, was delivering the 16ft rectangular frame to Delpro Ltd in Glossop, for his employer, Russell Fabrications of Ashton, when the accident happened in January 2012.

The two firms have now been ordered to pay nearly £50,000 in fines and costs following an investigation by the Health and Safety Executive (HSE).

Derby Crown Court heard the frame was loaded on a pickup truck at an angle, the top end resting on a supporting bar over the driver’s cab. When the frame arrived, workers lifted it using chains - one set longer than the other to allow for the tilt - attached to a forklift truck.

As they lifted, the shorter chains dropped out of the hook and the frame fell 6ft on to Mr Sutton’s left foot. The damage was so severe his leg eventually had to be amputated above the knee.

The court was told neither company had planned the lift at either end of the journey, and both the truck and lifting equipment weren’t fit for the job.

Russell Fabrications failed to make adequate arrangements for the metal frame to be transported safely, and Delpro pleaded guilty to a breach of lifting equipment regulations.

Speaking after the hearing, HSE inspector Scott Wynne said: “The methods adopted for both the loading and unloading were inherently unsafe.”

Delpro was fined £12,000 with £8,735 costs and Russell £11,917 with £13,734 costs after being found guilty of a breach of the Health and Safety at Work Act.