A waste management company has been prosecuted following a serious workplace transport incident in which a young employee was crushed by an excavator.
The incident
On 29 January 2024, a 24-year-old employee was working near a waste pile when he was struck from behind and run over by an excavator. He sustained multiple fractures to both feet.
The investigation
An investigation by the Health and Safety Executive (HSE) found that the company had failed to establish a safe system of work. Pedestrians were permitted to work in close proximity to moving vehicles without physical segregation, and no risk assessment had been carried out to manage workplace transport hazards. This incident was easily avoidable by implementing control measures and safe practices, including segregation and safe refuges
The company was sentenced at Teesside Magistrates’ Court on 5 August 2025 after pleading guilty to breaching section 2(1) of the Health and Safety at Work Act. The company was fined £4,000 and ordered to pay £4,285 in costs.
HSE guidance requires that pedestrians and vehicles are kept apart during manual sorting operations. Employers must ensure traffic routes can be used safely and introduce measures such as physical barriers, designated walkways, and safe refuges where necessary. ‘The outcome could have been much worse,’ commented HSE inspector Richard McMullen after the hearing. ‘But the failures that day meant a worker received serious injuries. ‘This incident was easily avoidable by implementing control measures and safe practices, including segregation and safe refuges. It should serve as a reminder to the waste industry of the need to manage workplace transport risks effectively.’
Source – IOSH
