Firm fined £80k after worker fractured his skull while taking cattle out of lorry
11th November 2024
A Scottish company has been fined £80,000 after an agricultural engineer sustained a fractured skull at its site in Glasgow.
In addition to a fractured skull, the worker sustained a broken clavicle, a ripped earlobe and haematomas down his right side, caused by being struck by a telehandler bucket while working at Grayshill Limited on 19th October 2022, the Health and Safety Executive confirmed.
The agricultural engineer had been removing cattle from the back of a lorry when the telehandler bucket became detached and struck him.
A HSE investigation found that Grayshill Limited failed to implement a safe system of work for the use of quick hitches on the telehandler.
A quick hitch is a latching device that enables, in this case, the bucket, to be connected to the arm of the telehandler and changed quickly.
A manual quick hitch requires an operator to manually insert a metal pin from the latching device to secure the attachment.
Serious incident
On the morning of 19th October 2022, a self-employed agricultural engineer had serviced the telehandler, which included removing the bucket, but the engineer did not correctly reattach it onto the telehandler after the service was complete.
The investigation found that the securing pin for the quick hitch had not been reinserted.
HSE principal inspector Hazel Dobb said: “This was a serious incident that has resulted in a worker sustaining horrific injuries.
“We thoroughly investigated this incident and found Grayshill Limited failed to carry out the correct control measures and safe working practices at its site in Glasgow.
“The company also failed to check its vehicles after they had been serviced and repaired to ensure they were safe for use.”
Grayshill Limited of Cumbernauld, Glasgow, pleaded guilty to breaching Section 2(1), Section 2(2)(a) and Section 33(1)(a) of the Health and Safety at Work etc. Act 1974.
The company was fined £80,000 and ordered to pay a victim surcharge of £6,000 at Airdrie Sheriff Court on 28th October 2024.
HSE guidance can be found here.
Read more farm safety news.
