A COMPANY in Co. Antrim has today been fined £175,000 following the death of a man in a workplace incident in 2019.
Maciej Wieczorek, 43, sustained fatal crush injuries after he was trapped between the chassis of a trailer and the trailer body.
McCauley Trailers Ltd of Gloverstown Road in Toomebridge had pleaded guilty to two health and safety offences prior to today’s hearing at Antrim Crown Court.
“Firstly, our thoughts are with the family of Mr Wieczorek following the death of Maciej in September 2019,” said Detective Inspector Lenaghan of the PSNI.
“Nothing will bring him back, but we hope today brings closure for Maciej’s loved ones.”
Failures
On September 4, 2019, Mr Wieczorek was working under the body of a raised tipper trailer, preparing it for shot blasting prior to painting.
The trailer body was raised using a forklift truck and then propped up using a single metal prop placed between the chassis of the trailer and the trailer body.
Mr Wieczorek sustained fatal crush injuries when the trailer body fell and trapped him between the chassis and the body of the trailer.
Following the incident, a file was submitted by police to the Public Prosecution Service (PPS).
The Fraud & Departmental Section of the PPS worked closely with the Health and Safety Executive for Northern Ireland (HSENI) and the PSNI to build a robust prosecution case.
The investigation found there were no risk assessments or safe systems of work in place detailing how to safely raise, support and work under a raised tipper trailer during the shot blasting process.
It was found that the company failed to identify and control the risks associated with working under raised loads during this activity.
The investigation also revealed that the prop being used on the day of the incident to support the trailer had been modified.
This made it much less effective at remaining in place to hold the trailer in the raised position.
‘Completely preventable’
“Working under raised loads is a known industry hazard,” said HSENI Major Investigation Team Inspector, Kiara Blackburn.
“It is essential that employers identify the risks associated with their work activities and implement adequate controls.
“Safe systems of work, including the use of safe, suitable and correct work equipment to raise and support raised loads must be in place.
“Employers must ensure that all employees are aware of the risks and are suitably trained and supervised.
“This tragic death was completely preventable.”