Health and Safety Failings – Tractor incident results in Bristol City Council prosecution

Tractor incident results in Bristol City Council prosecution

Key Facts:

•  A worker was thrown from a tractor, resulting in serious injuries.
• The tractor was not fitted with a seatbelt, the employee had not been adequately trained, and no supplier training was provided on procurement of the tractor.
• After the subsequent HSE investigation, Bristol City Council were fined £20,000 plus costs of £4,700.

The Case:

An investigation was launched into the practices of Bristol City Council after a park keeper sustained serious injuries after a tractor overturned, throwing the worker from it.

The incident, which happened on 30 May 2012, left the 51-year-old employee with a broken pelvis and badly damaged achilles tendon. The worker was unable to return to work for a year, and has now undertaken an office job.

The subsequent investigation found that the tractor had not been fitted with a seat belt, and the Council had failed to ensure adequate training was provided to the employee. The HSE also identified that the tractor had been acquired outside the normal procurement procedure and so although it was nearly new, no supplier training was provided.

The case was heard at Bristol Magistrates’ Court on 28 April 2015, where Bristol City Council admitted to two breaches of the Provision and Use of Work Equipment Regulations 1998. They were fined £20,000 plus costs of £4,700.

What the law states:

Regulation 9(1) of the Provision and Use of Work Equipment Regulations 1998 states:

“Every employer shall ensure that all persons who use work equipment have received adequate training for purposes of health and safety, including training in the methods which may be adopted when using the work equipment, any risks which such use may entail and precautions to be taken.”

Regulation 26(2) of the Provision and Use of Work Equipment Regulations 1998 states:

“Where there is a risk of anyone being carried by mobile work equipment being crushed by its rolling over, the employer shall ensure that it has a suitable restraining system.”

What the HSE said:

Speaking after the hearing, HSE inspector Kate Leftly said

“This incident was entirely preventable and has caused the worker considerable suffering and distress. She had trained three years for her park keeper role but is now office-bound and will need further surgery on the tendon requiring a 12-18 month recovery.

Every year, there are accidents involving transport in the workplace, some of which result in people being injured or even killed. People fall from vehicles, are knocked down, run over, or crushed against fixed parts, plant and trailers.

“Bristol City Council had inadequate systems in place to ensure operators were suitably trained in the use of this equipment and failed to identify the need for a suitable seat restraint.”

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