A man suffered bruising and swelling in his legs after being reversed into by a van

A vehicle hire company has been fined following an incident in which an employee suffered injuries at work.

The mans accident at work happened in January 2008 at the Southall site of S.H.B. Hire. A mechanic working at the site was reversing a Ford Transit 350 tipper when the vehicle hit Matthew Stevens who was cleaning another vehicle nearby. He suffered bruising and swelling to both legs.

Westminster Magistrates Court heard how the HSE served an improvement notice on the yard following the workplace accident, requiring the company to segregate pedestrians and organise the yard area.

The company admitted breaches of the Health and Safety at Work Act 1974 and was fined £5,000 and ordered to pay costs of almost £3,000.

HSE Inspector Jack Wilby said: “S.H.B. Hire failed to properly manage the risks and control the movement of its vehicles at its Southall site – ultimately leading to a worker becoming injured. Companies must ensure they take these risks seriously as every year around 50 people are killed in accidents involving workplace transport and there are over 1,900 major injuries."

http://www.workplacelaw.net/news/display/id/28325