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Recycling firm taken to court over serious leg injury

THE Health and Safety Executive (HSE) has prosecuted Cheshire-based WSR Recycling Ltd after an incident which led to a worker’s left leg being amputated below the knee.

The 46-year-old man, who did not want to be named, was working in a tipping bay at the company’s Ditton Road site, in Widnes, on 14 September 2009 when he was struck by a Volvo L110E wheel loader.

Appearing before Halton Magistrates’ Court, in Runcorn, on 21 June 2010, WSR Recycling admitted that they had not ensured pedestrians and vehicles could move around the bay safely.

Chris Goddard, the investigating inspector for HSE, said: ‘This worker has suffered a life-long injury as a result of a tragic incident and was very fortunate not to have been killed. He was run over by a very heavy vehicle, so his injuries could easily have been much worse.

‘It was foreseeable that pedestrians would be working in the same area as trucks, and so measures should have been taken to manage the risks. The site should have been properly supervised so that workers were kept away from moving vehicles.

‘Waste companies cannot afford to relax about safety, and risk developing bad habits as a result.’

WSR Recycling pleaded guilty to breaching Regulation 17 of the Workplace (Health, Safety and Welfare) Regulations 1992 and were ordered to pay £6,338 towards the cost of the prosecution in addition to the £10,000 fine.

 
 

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