Three companies fined after man hit by falling skips

Three companies have been fined for health and safety failings after a man was badly hurt when he was hit by two falling skips at a tyre factory.

Service engineer Ivan Weightman visited Carlisle’s Pirelli tyre factory on 14 November 2019 to inspect a forklift truck when two skips, stacked in an "inherently unsafe" way, fell on him.

He suffered multiple fractures and broken bones, and spoke of lasting physical and psychological effects at Carlisle Crown Court on Friday.

Pirelli's lawyer, and counsel representing DCS Multiserve and International Rubber and Tyre Recycling (IRTR), expressed regret and remorse and were fined almost £300,000 collectively.

Mr Weightman visited the complex on Dalston Road to inspect a forklift truck which had been leased by his employer to IRTR.

IRTR and Tyneside-based DCS Multiserve (DCS) were contractors responsible for disposing of waste tyres which were initially compacted, individually, in a specialist machine.

Carlisle Crown Court heard on Friday how a secondary practice of squashing stacks of tyres, ready for loading on to a wagon container, had then been invented by a man working at the site.

It involved using a forklift to place a loaded industrial skip on top of a waste tyre stack.

The skip was left in place, supported by the forklift, until waste tyres were sufficiently squashed, ready for onward disposal.

The forklift was sometimes left unattended with keys in the ignition.

"It was an improvised, unsafe practice of work that was allowed to persist over a long period of time," said Mr Monaghan. Pirelli knew it was happening, he told the court.

"It was an inherently unsafe process," added Mr Monaghan. "It should have been stopped."

Two skips had been loaded on to a tyre stack ready for that squashing process prior to Mr Weightman’s visit.

Mr Weightman, totally unaware of the procedure, reversed the forklift truck away from the stack ahead of a mandatory inspection, and walked around it.

"As he did so, the skips fell," said Mr Monaghan.

One struck him on the back, pinning his right leg to the ground. The second landed on his left leg.

Mr Weightman, now aged 47, was trapped and suffered multiple back fractures, a spiral break of his left femur, nerve compression to his left foot and compression damage to his right leg.

In a statement, he described being in hospital for five days after the incident.

He underwent surgery and spoke of lasting physical and psychological effects, a loss of self-esteem and being prescribed anti-depressant medication for more than four years.

Pirelli, of Derby Road, Burton-on-Trent, and IRTR, of Moorhead Lane, Shipley, admitted two health and safety law breaches, while DCS, of Newcastle-upon-Tyne, admitted one breach.

They said improvements had been made by all three firms to ensure all strict rules were followed.

Barrister Richard Matthews KC, for Pirelli, said of Mr Weightman’s ordeal: "The company regrets this enormously."

Counsel representing DCS and IRTR also expressed regret and remorse.

Recorder Julian Shaw observed Mr Weightman had suffered "extremely unpleasant, long-lasting, life-altering injuries".

Pirelli was fined £280,000, IRTR received a £9,000 fine and DCS was fined £2,600. All were told they must also pay costs.

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