05/02/2010 - Firm fined over worker's incident
A construction firm has been fined £20,000 after a contractor was seriously injured when his cherry picker toppled over.
Shepherd Construction Ltd, of Jockey Lane, Huntington, York, admitted breaching health and safety laws at Nottingham Magistrates' Court.
The company was fined and ordered to pay £6,900 costs over the incident at the Trinity Square construction site in Nottingham.
The court heard how on 30 August 2007 a contractor on the site drove a cherry picker over a concealed man hole cover.
The cover gave way under the weight of the machine and the cherry picker toppled over, leaving its driver with serious injuries to his skull, back and legs.
The long reaching arm of the machine crashed to the ground, landing in a busy area that had been occupied by pedestrians and vehicles only seconds before. Following the incident, Milton Street in central Nottingham was blocked off for almost six hours.
HSE Inspector Martin Giles said: "Operators of mobile elevating work platforms, such as scissor lifts and cherry pickers, must be warned about man hole covers and underground services because there is a real risk of them collapsing and heavy vehicles toppling over."
Copyright © Press Association 2010
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