Stone company fined after worker killed by falling granite

A company has been fined after a worker was fatally injured by granite slabs that fell from a lorry loader. The company pleaded guilty to breaching Section 2(1) of the Health and Safety at Work etc. Act 1974 and was fined £50,000.

The worker was offloading the granite slabs from the lorry loader when two granite slabs fell and struck him, causing fatal injuries.

The HSE investigation found that the vertical safety posts used to prevent the slabs from falling had been removed during the off-loading process. It is accepted practice for the posts to remain in place; however, this was not detailed with the company’s Safe System of Work. The investigation also found that the company’s Safe Systems of Work were not sufficient and failed to distinguish between single and multiple slab handling.