Omagh company sentenced after death of employee

A Co Tyrone company was today fined £150,000 for failings which resulted in the death of one of its employees at their premises on Killyclogher Road, Omagh.

Terex GB Ltd pleaded guilty after their employee, Mr Steven McTeague, sustained fatal injuries as a result of being crushed between two mobile stone crushing machines which were stored along with others in a stockyard area.

Mr McTeague had been tasked with moving one of the machines, using a handheld controller, from its parked position in the stockyard. During this operation the front of the machine veered towards a neighbouring parked machine, causing Mr McTeague to become trapped. Tragically Mr McTeague sustained fatal crush injuries to his chest.

HSENI Inspector Kyle Carrick said: “Our thoughts are with the McTeague family today. Steven’s tragic death could easily have been avoided if his employer had properly considered the risks associated with the movement of mobile plant within the stockyard. 

“Risk assessment is a relatively straightforward process. It simply involves identifying the risks and putting measures in place to manage them. In this case careful consideration as to the layout of the stockyard would have gone some way to preventing this tragic incident from occurring. 

“Manoeuvring mobile plant using handled controllers poses significant risks if operators cannot safely maintain good separation distances during the movement of such equipment.”

Further information on the legal requirements of working with mobile plant and equipment can be found on HSENI’s website at https://www.hseni.gov.uk/articles/workplace-transport

Notes to editors: 

1)         Breaches and fines for Terex GB are as follows:

a) Article 4(1) of the Health and Safety at Work (Northern Ireland) Order 1978; fine £50,000,

b) Article 5(1) of the Health and Safety at Work (Northern Ireland) Order 1978; fine £50,000,

c) Regulation 3(1)(a) of the Management of Health and Safety at Work Regulations (NI) 2000; fine £50,000.

2)         For media enquiries please contact HSENI Press Office on 028 9024 3249, or email media@hseni.gov.uk

3)         For Out of Office hours please contact the Duty Press Officer on 028 9037 8110.

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