Cheshire farm owner fined after roofer dies in fall
Farm owner fined after a man dies in fall from a forklift truck. He was attempting to repair the roof of a packing shed at his premises in Tarporley.
Thornhill (Rushton) Limited is fined a combined £16,000 after 64-year-old Mark Young died at Moss Hall Farm.
Earlier this year, the company is found guilty of breaching health and safety legislation following a six-week trial. The jury cleared 78-year-old Thornhill on a charge of gross negligence manslaughter. They returned to the same court on 11 October 2024 to be sentenced.
During the trial, the court was told Mr Young, a roofer, had been asked to make repairs to a roof. However, he damaged a second roof panel so a replacement was purchased to carry out an additional repair.
Mark Young had been lifted up to the roof using this forklift truck
He returned with his son three days later to complete the work, asking to be raised up to do it. Denis Thornhill arrived with a forklift truck that had a potato box balanced on its forks. Mr Young was lifted up inside the potato box to a height of around 16 feet. His son, who was on the roof, attempted to reposition the panel from above. As Mr Young moved to one side of the potato box, causing it to overbalance, he fell to the floor. Mr Young sustained serious head injuries.
Although paramedics were called, they were unable to resuscitate him and he was pronounced deceased at the scene.
HSE Inspector Ian Betley said after the hearing: “This was a tragic incident that could so easily have been avoided.
Wrong Equipment for the Job
“The forklift truck and potato box were wrong equipment for the job and never suitable for working at height. The work should instead have been carried out using a tower scaffold, scissor lift, or a cherry picker.
“In bringing the forklift truck and potato box and using it to lift Mark at height, the company was in control of the work but had failed to implement proper planning and safe execution of it.
“All companies have a legal duty to ensure the safety of workers they employ or who carry out work for them. If that had happened in this case, then Mark’s life wouldn’t have been lost.”
The potato box used to lift Mark Young was unsecured to the forklift truck with him inside it
Failure to Implement safe system of work
A joint investigation by Cheshire Constabulary and the Health and Safety Executive (HSE) found that on the day of the accident there was no safe system of work implemented for working at height. Unsuitable work equipment was used. The potato box did not have the required safety features for a non-integrated work platform and had not been secured in a way to prevent it overbalancing. Additionally, the forklift truck had not been subjected to a thorough examination at the required frequency and was unsuitable for lifting people. Denis Thornhill was not formally trained in operating the forklift truck. Enforcement action was taken and a Prohibition Notice was served on the company prohibiting further work until a safe system was devised.
Farm Owner Fined resulting in death of Roofer
Denis Thornhill of Eaton Lane, Tarporley, Cheshire was cleared of manslaughter but was also found guilty of breaching Section 37 of the Health and Safety at Work etc. Act 1974, by virtue of 37(1) of the Act and was fined £4,000 and ordered to pay costs of £4,000.
D.S. Thornhill (Rushton) Limited of Moss Hall Farm, Moss Hall Lane, Tarporley, Cheshire was found guilty of breaching Section 3(1) of the Health and Safety at Work etc. Act 1974 and was fined £12,000 and ordered to pay costs of £10,000.
Tip: HSE guidance can be found at: https://www.hse.gov.uk/workplacetransport/lift-trucks/managing-lift-trucks.htm
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