After an accident left two of its employees injured, one glass manufacturing firm may end up having a work accident claim brought against it, in addition to having to pay a hefty fine.
Pilkington UK Ltd was fined for their role in the injuries of Ashley Emes, aged twenty four, and his colleague Nick Stone, aged thirty five, who were injured in a trolley collapse. According to personal injury compensation experts, the two workers had been attempting to move the trolley when the collapse caused the glass panes it was loaded with to fall and break upon both men.
The accident, which occurred in Bristol at the firm’s Imperial Park site, saw both men suffer serious personal injuries which could lead to accident claims against their employer.
Bristol native Mr Emes, from Longwell Green, broke his leg in the incident and also required seventy two stitches in order to close the wounds on his neck. Mr Stone, who lives in Somerset in Weston-super-Mare, sustained some tendon damage, severe bruising, and numerous lacerations.
The Health and Safety Executive launched an investigation into the incident, discovering that the glass panes in the trolley had been distributed unevenly because it had been seriously overloaded. The majority of the weight was found to have been on one side of the collapsed trolley, HSE investigators said.
At a hearing at Bristol Magistrates’ Court, Lancashire company Pilkington UK Ltd, of Latham, Ormskirk, was given a £20,000 fine and £5,646 in additional legal fees after it admitted to breaching the Health and Safety at Work Act.
It is unknown whether either one or both injured employees will be bringing accident claims against Pilkington UK at this time, though many employees injured in similar situations have gone on to do so in the past.