Company ordered to pay £75,000 after farm worker is crushed to death

Published HSE: July 2010

A farming and haulage company has been fined £21,000 with £54,000 costs after a 24-year-old agriculture worker was crushed to death on a farm in Norfolk.

The deceased had been using a tractor to tow manure to a field at a farm in July 2007. He was dumping manure out of a tipper trailer when the drawbar broke and crashed forwards through the back of the tractor, fatally crushing him in the cab. He died at the scene.

An investigation by the Health and Safety Executive (HSE) found the tipper trailer had not been adequately maintained and was not suitable for handling solid manure.

The company owners appeared at Norwich Crown Court for sentencing. They had admitted breaching Section 2(1) of the Health and Safety at Work etc Act 1974 at an earlier hearing.

HSE Inspector Malcolm Crowther said:

"This sad death of a young man in his early 20s should never have happened. His employers did not carry out their legal duty to ensure the health and safety of their employees - and the result was this tragic death. The trailer had not been maintained properly and was not suitable for transporting solid manure.

"Farming is one of the country's most dangerous industries with people often working on their own and in remote locations. The HSE's agriculture campaign, Make The Promise, calls on all farmers and agriculture workers to 'make the promise' to come home safe each night. Making health and safety a priority before heading out each day is so important and takes a relatively small amount of time.

"In this case, it was down to the company to ensure the equipment was maintained properly and safe for the farm workers to use - something the company did not do. If more farmers and farming companies 'make the promise' then hopefully we can avoid repeating tragic incidents such as this one."

More information on the Make The Promise campaign can be found at http://www.hse.gov.uk/agriculture/makethepromise/index.htm

Notes to editors

• SE is Britain's national regulator for workplace safety and health. It aims to reduce injuries and illness in the workplace.
• Section 2(1) of the Health and Safety at Work etc Act 1974 states: "It shall be the duty of every employer to ensure, so far as is reasonably practicable, the health, safety and welfare at work of all his employees."
• Advice and guidance for employers can be found on the HSE website: www.hse.gov.uk
• Information on the Make The Promise agriculture campaign can be found at: http://www.hse.gov.uk/agriculture/makethepromise/index.htm
• A 'drawbar' is a solid coupling between the vehicle and its load.

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