A farming partnership has been fined after a farm worker was fatally injured
following an incident involving a telehandler within the pig barn.
Weston Super Mare Magistrates’ Court heard how, on 17 October 2019,
Mr Andrew Denning, a self-employed farm worker, was helping with the
mucking-out and animal welfare checks inside a large pig shed.
Mr Denning was working in close proximity to a telehandler, fitted with a
bucket, which was scraping the muck from the floor using multiple short
manoeuvres. Mr Denning was struck by the telehandler and killed as it reversed.
An investigation by the Health and Safety Executive (HSE) found that C M
Stone failed to ensure a safe system of work. Staff working within the shed were
not adequately segregated from the machine so far as was reasonably
practicable. C M Stone of The Yards, Woolavington Puriton, Bridgewater ,
pleaded guilty to breaching section 3(1) of the Health and Safety at Work Act.
The company has been fined £53,000 and ordered to pay costs of £8,000.
Speaking after the case HSE inspector William Powell commented :” The
system of work used at this farm was not safe. Simple measures to keep
pedestrians and large farm vehicles properly separated could have prevented
Mr Dunning’s death. Being struck by a moving vehicle has been the biggest
cause workplace fatalities on farms for several years. Farmers should properly
assess their workplace transport risks and separate people and vehicles where
reasonably practicable. HSE will not hesitate to take appropriate enforcement
action against those that fall below the required standards.”
