Fatal fall highlights risk to delivery drivers

Saint Gobain Building Distribution Ltd was also ordered to pay costs of £51,000 by Lincoln Crown Court after being found guilty of breaching health and safety law. The Health and Safety Executive (HSE) warned employers that they must ensure the safety of drivers who load and unload goods.

The HSE said Boston-based Calders and Grandidge Limited - part of Saint Gobain - began supplying metal poles as part of a new product line in 2005.

The court heard how in August of that year, the day before the first full load of poles was to be dispatched, HGV driver Nigel Sargeant, age 46, attempted to adjust the height of his load. In doing so, he fell approximately 15 feet and suffered fatal head injuries.

Following the court case, HSE inspector Jo Anderson said: "Every year 2,000 workers are seriously injured after falling from their vehicle and last year four workers actually lost their lives after falling from their truck or lorry. It is vital that those who work in the transport industry take this issue seriously.

"On 5 August, the workers had been left to their own devices to work out a method to load the poles. Mr Sargeant became concerned about the clearance beneath bridges of a load.

"He cut the bands around one of the pole packs and the load shifted causing him to fall. The height of the load exceeded the height of the pins fitted to the trailer to hold the load in place."

Risk assessment

The HSE inspector went on to say: "This incident highlights the need for employers to recognise the risk of drivers falling when loading and unloading vehicles. They need to put measures in place to prevent this sort of incident from happening again. Had the correct measures been in place Mr Sargeant may not have died."

She added: "Companies must have procedures in place to identify new or changed products and the impact that their introduction will have on existing systems and procedures.

"In this case, there was no procedure in place and therefore no risk assessment was undertaken for the loading of metal poles, despite it being recognised as a problem, as workers were finding it difficult to load the metal poles with the equipment provided which was suitable for timber poles."

The charges were brought against the company under the Management of Health and Safety at Work Regulations 1999 for failing to have arrangements in place to manage the introduction of new products and systems, and for failing to perform a suitable and sufficient risk assessment for the loading of steel poles onto trailers.

Charges brought under the Health and Safety at Work etc Act 1974, for failing to provide a safe system of work for the loading of steel poles onto trailers, were discharged by the judge at a previous hearing, after a jury failed to reach a decision.

Further information on managing the risk of falls from vehicles can be found on the HSE website here.