McGrath Bros (Waste Control) was prosecuted by the Health and Safety Executive (HSE) following the incident on 10 January 2008.

The injured man, who was off work for 14 months following the accident, worked as driver for McGrath Bros and was unloading steel frames from a delivery lorry with two colleagues at a site in Barking, east London.

The frames were resting on top of building rubble inside the truck and the men attempted to lift one frame using a crane and chains.

While it was being unloaded, one of the chains slipped causing the hoisted frame to slip and fall back into the truck, crushing the victim’s legs as he became trapped between the two 700 kg steel-fabricated frames.

McGrath Bros, of McGrath House, Hepscott Road, Hackney, had been making large steel frames at its Hackney site and transporting them to the Barking site.

The frames, which individually measured 9m by 1.6m by 30cm, had a total weight of up to 1.4 tonnes.

The man suffered nine fractures in his legs and he had to spend six months in hospital and nursing homes and was off work for 14 months.

At City of London Magistrates’ Court last week the firm pleaded guilty to breaching section 2 (1) of the Health and Safety at Work Act 1974, the company was fined £14,000 and ordered to pay £7,447 in costs.

Luke Walsh

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