Refuse vehicle manufacturer Dennis Eagle has been hit with a £166,000 fine and costs of more than £22,000 after an employee was killed when a vehicle rolled over him. Field service engineer Simon Rose, 39, was working under the truck when the parking brake released and the refuse vehicle moved forwards.
The truck had been reported as having an intermittent problem with the brake sticking on when it should have been released. Rose
was using two pieces of brick as an alternative to wheel chocks, and the company had not carried out a suitable risk assessment and instruction on how to proceed safely in this situation.
Dennis Eagle was charged at Stafford Crown Court under section two of the Health and Safety at Work Act. HSE Inspector Lyn Spooner says: "Simon Rose was a very experienced and competent engineer, who was working logically to solve a problem.
"However, in the absence of suitable safe systems of work to provide adequate instruction, and in the absence of the provision of adequate equipment, Simon was forced to improvise, which he had probably had to do on numerous occasions. Unfortunately, this time, it proved fatal. Regrettably, had Dennis Eagle complied with legal duties, his death would had been avoided, which is of little solace to Mrs Rose and her two young children".
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