The Health and Safety Executive (HSE) has fined a construction company from York, after a cherry picker overturned, causing serious injuries to the driver.

In August 2007, a worker on the construction site at Trinity Square in Nottingham city centre drove the cherry picker over a concealed manhole cover, which gave way under the weight of the vehicle.

The machine – a mobile elevating work platform – toppled over and the driver sustained serious injuries to his skull, back and legs.

The long-reaching arm of the vehicle landed in a busy area that had been filled with pedestrians and vehicles only seconds before the accident. After the incident, Milton Street in the centre of Nottingham was blocked off for six hours.

On Wednesday (03/02/10) at Nottingham Magistrates’ Court, Shepherd Construction Limited of Jockey Lane, Huntington, in York pleaded guilty to breaching Section 3(1) of the Health and Safety at Work etc. Act 1974 for its part in the incident, which seriously injured a worker and put the public at risk.

The company was fined £20,000 with £6,900 costs.

After the hearing, HSE Inspector Martin Giles said:

‘This was a very dangerous incident, in an area which was bustling with pedestrians and vehicles. It could so easily have led to people being killed and has left a worker with serious injuries.'

Mr Giles said that the company failed to put in place ‘adequate measures’ to find and record where the manholes and service covers were located around the construction site – and also failed to take steps to protect them or prevent vehicles from driving over them.

‘Operators of mobile elevating work platforms, such as scissor lifts and cherry pickers, must be warned about manhole covers and underground services because there is a real risk of them collapsing and heavy vehicles toppling over,’ said Mr Giles.

‘When people’s lives are at risk, it is absolutely inexcusable to leave this to chance,’ he added.

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