An abattoir near Glasgow has been fined £80,000 after a worker suffered "horrific injuries" when the scoop of a digger fell on him.
The worker was removing cattle from the back of a truck when the bucket became detached and struck him on October 19, 2022.
He suffered a fractured skull, a broken clavicle, a ripped earlobe and haematomas down his right side.
A Health and Safety Executive (HSE) investigation found Grayshill Limited failed to implement a safe system of work for the use of quick hitches on the telehandler. A quick hitch is a latching device that enables, in this case, the bucket, to be connected to the arm of the telehandler and changed quickly. A manual quick hitch requires an operator to manually insert a metal pin from the latching device to secure the attachment.
On the morning in question, a self-employed agricultural engineer had serviced the machinery.
That included removing the bucket but the engineer failed to reattach it properly after the service was completed, with the securing pin not reinserted.
Grayshill Limited, of Mollins Road, Cumbernauld, Glasgow, pleaded guilty to breaching Section 2(1), Section 2(2)(a) and Section 33(1)(a) of the Health and Safety at Work etc. Act 1974. The company was fined £80,000 and ordered to pay a victim surcharge of £6,000 at Airdrie Sheriff Court on 28 October 2024.
HSE principal inspector Hazel Dobb said: “This was a serious incident that has resulted in a worker sustaining horrific injuries.
"We thoroughly investigated this incident and found Grayshill Limited failed to carry out the correct control measures and safe working practices at its site in Glasgow. The company also failed to check its vehicles after they had been serviced and repaired to ensure they were safe for use.”
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