A commercial fleet operator has been fined £255,000 after a worker fell from a lorry and fractured his skull.
The man, who was working as a delivery driver for B Taylor & Sons Transport, had been delivering glass to a customer when the incident occurred in Hinckley, Leicestershire on December 4, 2020.
As no forklift truck was available, the man was passing panes of glass from a stillage in the lorry to another worker on the ground.
The man then fell from the lorry, fracturing his skull, left hand, nose and right eye socket. He also sustained two bleeds on the brain, a 12cm gash on his forehead and dislocated his right elbow. He spent five days in hospital following the incident and has had to make significant adjustments to his day-to-day life.
The Health and Safety Executive (HSE) said that he struggles to carry out normal activities, including lifting moderate to heavy loads and carrying out DIY tasks in his home.
He also experiences pain on a daily basis as a result of his injuries and feels a lot of uncertainty about what the future holds.
An investigation by the HSE found that B Taylor & Sons Transport had failed to put in place appropriate control measures for unloading activities. Risks had not been considered and the work was being carried out unsafely.
