£1.2m fine for CF Booth after worker hit by wagon

The employee was walking across the site yard in Rotherham when he was hit by the 32-tonne skip lorry, which also broke his collarbone in two places.

The Health and Safety Executive found that the recycling firm’s premises was not organised in a way in which pedestrians and vehicles could “circulate in a safe manner”.

The employee was not wearing a high-vis jacket and did not see the wagon approaching when the incident happened on August 10, 2020.

The driver did not see the employee because he had been concentrating on going around some low-level skips placed nearby.

CF Booth Ltd, of Armer Street in Rotherham, appeared before magistrates in Sheffield on April 25 to admit breaching section two of the Health and Safety at Work etc. Act 1974.

The company was fined £1.2 million and ordered to pay costs of £5,694.85.

After the hearing, HSE inspector Kirstie Durrans said: “If CF Booth Ltd had assessed the risks and ensured vehicles and pedestrians could circulate in a safe manner, this incident could have easily been avoided.

“Companies should be aware that HSE will not hesitate to take appropriate enforcement action against those that fall below the required standards.”

The injured employee has made a full recovery, the HSE added.

The incident happened in what was family-run CF Booth’s centenary year, having been founded in 1920.

The HSE’s investigation found: “A suitable and sufficient workplace transport risk assessment was not in place for the segregation of vehicles and pedestrians.

“The company had failed to take steps to properly assess the risks posed by the movement of vehicles and pedestrians.

“The incident could have been prevented by adequately assessing the risks and implementing appropriate control measures such as physical barriers and crossing points.”

Every workplace must be safe for the people and vehicles using it. Guidance and advice on this, including advice on creating safe traffic and pedestrian routes, can be found on the HSE website at https://www.hse.gov.uk/workplacetransport.