Director Sentenced after Worker Crushed to Death by MEWP

A COMPANY DIRECTOR was given a suspended prison sentence after an employee lost his life at a building site in St Helens.

Uldis Sankans died after being crushed between a girder and the basket of a mobile elevating work platform (MEWP) while working for RM Gibbons Ltd.

The 30-year-old, from Latvia, had been operating the MEWP at a site in St Helens when he was fatally crushed on 8 November 2019.

The director of RM Gibbons Ltd, Roger Gibbons, was given a 16 weeks custodial sentence, which was suspended for 12 months. The company was also fined £40,000.

Insufficient Risk Assessment

A Health and Safety Executive (HSE) investigation found that RM Gibbons Ltd failed to properly risk assess the operation of the MEWP and failed to provide its employees with sufficient training.

HSE guidance states hazards such as entrapment, overturning, falling and collisions should be identified within a risk assessment and suitable control measures put in place while operating a MEWP. More on this can be found at: Construction – Mobile elevating work platforms health & safety.

Company Fined

RM Gibbons Ltd, of Whiteleys Lane, Lathom, Ormskirk, pleaded guilty to breaching Section 2(1) and Section 33(1)(g) of the Health and Safety at Work etc Act 1974. The company was fined £40,000 and ordered to pay £9,424 in costs at Liverpool Magistrates’ Court on 30 May 2024.

Director Sentenced

Roger Gibbons, Director of RM Gibbons Ltd, Delph Drive, Burscough, pleaded guilty to breaching Section 2(1) and Section 33(1) of the Health & Safety at Work etc. Act 1974 by virtue of 37(1). He was sentenced to 16 weeks imprisonment, suspended for 12 months and was told to complete 140 hours of unpaid work at Liverpool Magistrates’ Court on 30 May 2024.

HSE inspector Mike Lisle said: “This incident could easily have been avoided by simply identifying the risks and putting in place appropriate control measures and ensuring employees have been suitably trained.

“Companies should be aware that HSE take fatal accidents seriously no matter the size of the company and will not hesitate to take appropriate enforcement action against those that fall below the required standards.”

Find guidance on avoiding MEWP trapping and crushing here.

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