Firm fined after reversing lorry crushes worker

A Dartford firm has been fined after an employee was seriously injured when he was crushed by a reversing lorry at the KBC Logistics depot in Essex.

The Health and Safety Executive (HSE), prosecuting, told Basildon Magistrates’ Court that driver Leslaw Chorazak, 54, was waiting to take his place at the wheel of the articulated 45ft heavy goods vehicle.

Mr Chorazak was guiding the returning driver as he reversed the lorry into the poorly lit yard. As he bent to pick up his torch, the driver lost sight of him and continued to reverse, crushing him between the back of the lorry and the office wall.

Mr Chorazak suffered severe crush injuries to his right arm, body and collar bone and spent several days in hospital. HSE’s investigation found the yard was poorly lit, there was no means of separating pedestrians and vehicles, there was no proper supervision on site and no health and safety training for the staff working there or their managers.

The company pleaded guilty to breaching Section 3 (1) of the Health and Safety at Work etc Act 1974 and was fined £12,000 with costs of £3,009.80.

After the hearing, HSE Inspector Nicola Surrey said:

"Working with moving vehicles is a high risk activity which causes significant numbers of major and fatal injuries every year in this country. Mr Chorazak was seriously injured in this incident and it was only good fortune that it did not end in a fatality."

Last year, 17 workers were killed and more than 530 suffered major injury after being hit by moving vehicles while at work in Great Britain. Of these, two workers were killed and 130 received major injuries resulting specifically from contact with a reversing vehicle.