The Health and Safety Executive (HSE) has prosecuted a Kent company after a worker was crushed to death when an unsecured metal plate he was about to spray paint fell on him.

In October 2006, Nigel Harrison was working at North Kent Shotblasting Ltd of Northfleet in Kent. The metal plate he was about to seal and spray paint weighed 975kg and crushed him when it fell, causing fatal injuries.

On Tuesday (29/09/09) at Maidstone Crown Court, North Kent Shotblasting Ltd was fined £150,000 and ordered to pay £24,000 costs.

Speaking after the hearing, HSE inspector David Fussell said that the accident happened as a result of ‘a combination of events’ – including ‘reliance on a fatally flawed system of work and the company’s complete lack of control over employees’ safety’.

 Mr Fussell said that, as a result of this, workers at the Grove Road site had been left to decide for themselves how best to secure the heavy metal plates – and added that the fatal injuries Mr Harrison sustained were ‘entirely preventable’.

‘HSE will not tolerate employers exposing their employees to unacceptable risks at work,’ said Mr Fussell.

‘Crush and trap injuries are a common cause of manufacturing incidents. If North Kent Shotblasting Ltd had carried out an assessment of the risks when working in close proximity to the heavy metal plates – and carried out the cheap and simple safety requirements that were subsequently implemented after the issuing of Prohibition and Improvement Notices – then this incident could have been avoided.’

HSE figures show that more than 8,000 injuries and 24 deaths have occurred in the motor vehicle repair industry in the last five years.

‘We must pass on to the next generation a record of what we have learned in securing a safe environment for employees to work in,' said Mr Fussell.

‘We cannot allow the same sorts of incidents to continue seriously injuring and killing people.’

© 5r1 Limited 2009