Waste management company R W Waste fined just £1 after worker was crushed by an excavator
R W Waste was ordered to pay a ‘nominal’ fine by Southampton Magistrates’ Court.
A waste management company has been fined just £1 after a worker was crushed by an excavator - and lost both legs as a result.
According to the Health and Safety Executive (HSE), a 24-year-old man called Mr Parrott was working for R W Waste in Shedfield on November 7, 2023, when a 15-tonne excavator reversed over him as he was sorting waste. Both of his legs were amputated and he has not been able to return to work since.
Following the incident, HSE investigated R W Waste and found the company had failed to protect workers and other visitors to the site. The company was prosecuted for breaches of the Health and Safety at Work etc. Act (1974).
HSE inspector Nicola Pinckney said: “The failures of this company has left a young man with truly life-changing injuries. He has not been able to work since.
“Unfortunately, this type of accident is sadly not uncommon in this industry.
“After the incident, and following enforcement action taken by HSE, the company did introduce a number of readily available measures that significantly reduce the risk of this happening again.
“We take these failures seriously and will hold those to account who fail to keep their workers and other people safe.”
At Southampton Magistrates’ Court on April 16, the court heard that the appropriate fine, after trial, would have been £180,000, which was reduced to £120,000 to reflect the company’s guilty plea.
As R W Waste from Botley Road, Shedfield, had gone into liquidation and was unable to pay, it was ordered to pay a nominal fine of £1.