Waste company in County Durham fined after worker run over by excavator on second week of job
A 24-year-old man, who was in his second week of employment at Farm XS (Northern) Limited in Barnard Castle, was run over by the vehicle on 29 January 2024, suffering fractures to both feet.
An investigation by the Health and Safety Executive (HSE) found that the company had failed to ensure a safe system of work was in place. The HSE says the man was working on a waste pile near moving vehicles with no physical separation between them, and added that there was no risk assessment or system of work to protect pedestrians from vehicle movements.
At Teesside Magistrates' Court on Tuesday 5 August, Farm XS (Northern) Limited pleaded guilty to breaching the Health and Safety at Work Act and was fined £4,000, with a further £4,285 to pay in costs.
Guidance states that pedestrians and vehicles should be segregated when waste is being manually sorted. By law, employers must ensure traffic routes can be used without risking the safety of workers nearby.
After the hearing, HSE inspector Richard McMullen said: 'The outcome could have been much worse. But the failures that day meant a worker received serious injuries.
'This should be a reminder to the waste industry of the need to consider workplace transport risks and to introduce appropriate control measures to separate vehicles and pedestrians.'
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A waste management firm has been fined after a young employee was run over by an 24-year-old suffered fractures to both feet while working for Farm XS (Northern) Limited in Barnard Castle, County victim had been with the company for two weeks when he was struck from behind by the and Safety Executive (HSE) inspector Richard McMullen said the serious injuries were caused by "failures" at the business but the outcome could have been much worse. The HSE said the man had been working on a waste pile near moving vehicles with no separation between the two. It also claimed there had been no risk assessment carried out or a system of work created to protect people from the guidance states pedestrians and vehicles should be segregated when waste is being manually sorted and by law, employers must ensure traffic routes can be used without risking the safety of workers a hearing at Teesside Magistrates' Court, Farm XS (Northern) Limited pleaded guilty to breaching health and safety regulations. "This incident was easily avoidable by implementing control measures and safe practices to ensure that workers were not put at risk from moving vehicles, including clear segregation and safe refuges," Mr McMullen said."This should be a reminder to the waste industry of the need to consider workplace transport risks and to introduce appropriate control measures to separate vehicles and pedestrians."The company was fined £4,000 and ordered to pay £4,285 in costs. Follow BBC Tees on X, Facebook, Nextdoor and Instagram.
