£170,000 fine for Kier MG, following life threatening injury 09 January 2015

Nationwide waste management firm Kier MG has been fined nearly £170,000 for safety failings after an employee was crushed between a skip loader truck and a skip at a site in Essex.

The worker was trapped between the truck and the skip he was preparing for pick-up at the-then May Gurney waste recycling centre on Canvey Island on 26 January 2013.

He suffered life-threatening injuries, including having all ribs broken and sustaining back, shoulder and leg injuries, and a cracked skull.

An HSE (Health and Safety Executive) investigation found inadequate procedures in place to keep workers safely away from vehicles moving around the site.

The court was told that the company, which acquired May Gurney in July 2013, had put in place measures to segregate visitors from vehicles but had not extended them to workers.

"This was an entirely preventable incident caused by Kier MG's failure to recognise the hazards to workers arising from skip loading operations at their Canvey Island recycling centre," says HSE inspector Edward Crick.

"The risks to pedestrians when they are near operating work vehicles are very serious, but also well-known within industry," he continues.

"There is no excuse, therefore, for companies to disregard vital elements of workplace safety."

Brian Tinham

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Health & Safety Executive

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