Sainsbury’s have been fined £10,000 after a store worker was crushed by a 340kg trolley.
The woman was working at a Sainsbury’s local store at Saltersgill Avenue in Middlesbrough in September 2011, when the incident occurred. She was unloading a roll cage trolley from the back of a delivery vehicle’s ramp into the store when it fell on top of her. The top-heavy trolley weighed 40kg, and was packed with 300kg of products. The employee suffered serious injuries, breaking a bone in her leg, and in the base of her spine.
The employee was unable to be freed for a period, as her three colleagues and the delivery driver struggled to remove the heavy roll cage from her.
17 days after the incident, another worker in the store was almost injured by a falling roll cage in identical circumstances, but was ultimately able to avoid being hit. The store has since began using a machine to unload the cages from the delivery vehicles.
The distribution centre responsible for packing the trolleys, operated by the Wincanton Group, was fined the same amount. Both companies pleaded guilty to wilfully doing an act likely to endanger the health and safety of their employees.
The Wincanton Group told the court that they had various measures in place to prevent accidents with trolleys, and that someone had failed to spot the uneven packing of the products. The roll cages had a maximum load set at 340kg, and staff were given presentations outlining their risks, they said. Staff were also given training in roll cage stability, and marshals were in place to check that the final packing was even.
Sainsbury’s defence stated that the store does the “utmost to manage the risk associated with roll cages” and that it was “a matter of regret” that they had appeared in court.
The prosecutor in the case said that the woman and her family had been distressed by the event.
Rebecca Montague, Specialist Personal Injury Solicitor at Macks commented “This case serves to highlight the importance of Employers carrying out thorough risk assessments. In addition Employers need to ensure through ongoing training that their employees continue to be aware of risks and do not become lackadaisical where health and safety procedures are concerned.”
Source: Gazette
