A plant firm in Kent has been fined £175,000 following the death of an employee.
Liam McArdle, from Gravesend, was crushed to death by an excavator attachment on 21 September 2021 while working for Erith Plant Services Limited.
A demolition grab, attached to an excavator, fell onto the 24-year-old while it was loaded onto a lorry at the firm’s workshop at Eastern Quarry on Watling Steet, Swanscombe.
‘Unbearable pain’
Liam’s father Declan McArdle said in his victim personal statement: “The pain of losing my son has been and will continue to be unbearable.
“Liam worked hard and wanted to learn. He wanted to follow in my footsteps, and I was proud of the person he was becoming.
“Liam and I enjoyed spending time together. We would go on truck rallies and to car racing events together. Liam would never really say: ‘I love you, dad.’ It just wasn’t his way.
“Rather, he would ask me to go to a racing event with him and I knew that this was Liam’s way of saying he loved me.
“Liam and I were planning on going to a racing event in February 2022. I went to the event, and I took Liam’s ashes with me so that we could still go together.”
Findings
An investigation found Erith Plant Services failed to ensure there was a safe method of work while loading and unloading excavators and attachments.
The company failed to ensure HGV drivers fully engaged the quick hitch when moving attachments during loading and unloading activities.
There was also no defined segregation between vehicles and pedestrians at the firm’s workshop, nor suitable supervision of activities.
Erith Plant Services Limited pleaded guilty to breaching the Health and Safety at Work Act.
In addition to the £175,000 fine, the company was ordered to pay £37,804 in costs at Woolwich Crown Court on 27 March 2024.
Health and Safety Executive inspector Joanne Williams said: “This tragic death serves as an important reminder that workers need to be trained and that there is always the potential for an attachment to fall during the operation of excavators.
“Employers need to ensure that work practices are maintained to keep workers away from the danger areas during lifting activities.”
Was this interesting? Try Balfour Beatty reports revenue of £10bn
If you have a tip or story idea that fits with our publication, please contact the news editor rory@wavenews.co.uk
Get industry news in 5 minutes!
A daily email that makes industry news enjoyable. It’s completely free.