Grain store company fined after worker fatally struck by lorry

A grain store company has been fined following the death of a worker at one of its sites.
The Crown Court heard how on 27 July 2016 an employee of the company suffered fatal injuries after being struck by a lorry at the site. The gentleman had left the control room to walk across the site and on leaving the building he walked in front of a moving lorry. The driver had checked his mirrors but he did not see the employee and moved forward fatally injuring him.
An investigation by the Health and Safety Executive (HSE) found that the company had failed to ensure that pedestrians and vehicles could move safely around the site and that they had not provided measures to prevent employees walking into areas where large vehicles are moving.
The company pleaded guilty to breaching Section 2 (1) of the Health and Safety at Work Act 1974. The company has been fined £180,000 and ordered to pay costs of £20,000.
After the hearing the HSE inspector said: “Being struck by vehicles is one of the most common causes of workplace fatal accidents. This was a tragic and wholly avoidable incident caused by failure of the host company to undertake a number of simple measures.”