HSE | A Staffordshire-based manufacturing company has been fined £300,000 after a man was left with injuries so serious he became ‘a shadow of his former self’.
Gary Taylor, who was 63 at the time, spent three weeks in hospital and needed seven months off work, following the incident on 24 March 2025.
The grandfather had been working for E H Hassell & Sons Limited at its site on Newstead Ind Estate in Trentham. He was one of several workers involved in the unloading of a lorry trailer containing various steel components for a large filtration system.
The workers had improvised a system to unload the metal hopper with a forklift truck, placing the forks underneath the unsecured load to lift it from the trailer bed. However, as it slid from the forks, it struck Mr Taylor in the head as he was stood alongside it. His injuries included fractures to his skull, neck and spine, two broken ribs and a severe laceration to his forehead which required 17 staples and 14 stitches.
The HSE’s investigation found that the lifting operation had not been properly planned by a competent person. The characteristics of the load, including its weight, size, centre of gravity and lifting points, had not been adequately assessed, and no safe system of work had been put in place.
Moving an object of this size and weight was not a regular task at the site and there was no established system of work for it.
E H Hassell & Sons Limited of Alderflat Drive, Trentham, Staffordshire pleaded guilty to breaching Regulation 8(1) of the Lifting Operations and Lifting Equipment Regulations 1998 and were fined £300,000 with costs of £5,690.
Mr Taylor described how the incident has had a lasting impact on his life: “During my time off recuperating from my injuries, the seven months I was off work, I had no interest in anything,” he said.
“I know my wife thinks that I won’t be around with her in my eighties, she has constant worry that something is going to happen to me. She never thought like that before my accident.
“For me, I have no idea what the future holds. I can only hope that I will get better as time goes on and I become more like the old man I used to be – a supportive husband, father and grandfather to my grandchildren.
“I want to be a person that hopefully will become more of a person than a shadow of my former self.”
HSE inspector Claire Whitehurst said: “The failures here resulted in an experienced worker suffering life-changing injuries. The company failed to properly plan the lifting operation or implement a safe system of work.
“Mr Taylor suffered serious injuries which could easily have resulted in his death. He has been left with facial scarring, and both he and his family have been deeply affected by this traumatic experience.
“Employers must ensure that lifting operations are properly planned by a competent person and carried out safely. This is especially important for non-routine tasks involving heavy or awkward loads.”
The HSE prosecution was brought by HSE enforcement lawyer, Julian White and supported by HSE paralegal officer, Stephen Grabe. The investigation was supported by visiting officer, Natalka Heath.
