Veolia fined after worker crushed by RCV tailgate

By Rachel Smith

Veolia ES Sheffield Ltd – part of the French-owned Veolia waste management company – pleaded guilty to an offence under the health and safety at work act after welder Richard Calsen, 25, died as he was working on a Mercedes Econic vehicle, owned by the firm.

Mr Calsen, an employee of John Fowler and Sons, Chorley, suffered a cardiac arrest when safety mechanisms failed and he was crushed between the tailgate and the vehicle.

His death was entirely unnecessary, a court heard.

John Fowler and Son was also fined £65,000 after Preston Crown Court heard it had failed to undertake adequate risk assessments to protect its employees.

Investigations by the Health and Safety Executive following Mr Calsen’s death, revealed a handwritten and undated risk assessment and no method statement, to put measures in place to secure a safe working environment on the day Mr Calsen died.

Welding

On May 17 2014 Mr Calsen was welding plates onto the tailgate of the vehicle alongside William Fowler, the son of the business owner.

Mr Fowler went to the cab to raise the tailgate a few inches, but Preston Crown Court heard he turned the control the wrong way and the tailgate started to close.

Hydraulic props, which were supposed to prevent the tailgate from closing fully had not been secured into place, and a safety limiting switch, which would ensure a one metre gap was left beneath the tailgate, was not working.

Mr Calsen was crushed in the machinery and died at the scene.

Following his death the Health and Safety Executive carried out a full investigation in which it emerged no adequate risk assessment had been undertaken in respect of the work Mr Calsen was carrying out.

Method statement

Following  Mr Calsen’s death a method statement was prepared outlining a number of safety measures which were to be mplemented to limit the risks to employees – steps  the prosecution said should have been taken earlier.

It also emerged Veolia ES Sheffiled Ltd had failed to carry out routine inspections to  its refuse collection vehicles and four other bin lorries in the fleet also had  faulty safety limiting switches – although there had been no further incidents  as a result.

John  Fowler and Son pleaded guilty to an offence under the Health and Safety at Work Act in that the company failed to protect its employees from risk of death or danger by providing adequate risk assessment.

Veolia ES Sheffield Ltd admitted a similar charge in respect of persons not in the company’s employment in that it failed to carry out adequate inspections to the vehicles, including safety switches.

Crushed

Recorder and Judge Mark Brown, sentencing, said: “Mr Calsen had no way to escape and tragically he was crushed between the tailgate and the vehicle.

“He was  only 25-years-old and was killed unnecessarily.

“This case in my view is a fatal accident which should never have happened.”

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Mark Brown
Recorder, Preston Crown Court

“There is no doubt that Mr Calsen’s death at a relatively young age has had a devastating
effect upon his family.

“His partner Jade Halpin describes him as a funny, charming, charismatic person. They were planning their future together. They were looking forward to having their daughter  and were planning to get married.

“The irony is that Mr Calsen was not supposed to be in work that day and only went in as a favour to his employers.”

In a victim impact statement, Mr Calsen’s mother Lynn, said there were no words to express the distress, pain and heartbreak suffered by the family as a result of Richard’s death.

Veolia was awarded a 35 year contract in 2001 by Sheffield city council which includes collection services.

Priority

In the wake of the court decision, a Veolia spokesperson said: “We would like to express our deepest sympathies to Richard Calsen’s family and friends. As a company we treat health and safety as the highest priority. A review of all relevant safety procedures was carried out after this incident and we have taken the necessary steps to ensure the highest standards are met for all our vehicle and maintenance operations.”

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