A plant hire firm has been fined £220,000 after an apprentice narrowly avoided potentially fatal injury when the boom of a mobile crane toppled.
On 3 August 2016, an apprentice at M&J Engineers Limited had climbed on to the roof of an accommodation cabin to attach a power float to the chains of a mobile crane. The crane operator, who had not been appropriately trained, began to extend the boom and move the crane into position. The crane had not been set up correctly and the boom of the crane toppled over toward the apprentice. The apprentice jumped out of the way of the boom avoiding a potentially fatal incident. However, his fall from height caused injuries to his leg and back, proceedings at Knights Chamber, Nightingale Court, in Peterborough heard.
An investigation by the Health and Safety Executive (HSE) found the company did not have a safe system of work in place and the crane operator had not been adequately trained. There was no clear instruction concerning the use of the crane or which areas the crane was prohibited from operating. They also had no way of ensuring that the apprentice was suitably managed.
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