Company prosecuted after a man died operating a mechanical digger he was not qualified to operate - 19th January 2010

A Welsh company has been ordered to pay almost £70,000 after one of its employees was killed in an accident at work.

Lance Taylor, who worked for Bridgend construction company, Macob Administration Limited, suffered fatal injuries at work whilst working on a construction site in February 2005.

He was driving a mini digger and accidentally hit a lever which raised the digging arm, crushing his head between the cab and the arm. He was declared dead at the scene.

Mr Taylor was not qualified to operate the digger but was helping out while its driver was absent.

Macob Administration pleaded guilty to breaches of the Provision and Use of Work Regulations 1998 at Gloucester Crown Court and was fined £40,000 and ordered to pay costs of £29,798.

Health and Safety Executive (HSE) inspector, Martin Lee, said: “It is imperative that on any construction site using plant and machinery there are systems in place to control access to the vehicles. Construction site managers need to know which workers on site are qualified to operate the machinery and that their control systems are working effectively.”

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