Chemical logistics company fined after ‘family man’ dies following fall from mobile loading ramp
Bertschi UK has been fined £425,000 after a warehouse supervisor suffered fatal injuries following a fall from a mobile loading ramp during a container loading operation at its Middlesbrough site.
PETER HUTCHINSON, 60, was employed as a Warehouse Supervisor by Bertschi UK Limited and had worked for the company since around 2009.
On 4 November 2021, Mr Hutchinson was helping to load plastic waste bales into a shipping container at the company’s site in Middlesbrough.
As Mr Hutchinson accessed the ramp, a plastic bale slipped from the forklift truck which was loading them into the container. This caused Mr Hutchinson to step backwards and fall approximately 1.5 metres onto the concrete surface below.
Mr Hutchinson suffered serious injuries and died in hospital on 23 November 2021.
Peter’s wife Karen Hutchinson, said: “My husband Peter was the family man and everything we did revolved around him.
“Everyone is struggling to come to terms with their dad, uncle and friend not being here. He did so much for so many people.
“To explain my feelings of loss is to try and explain the unthinkable – there are just simply no words.
“Peter was my husband and very best friend. He was my always and forever and he is my forever always.”
An investigation by the Health and Safety Executive (HSE) found that Bertschi UK Limited failed to properly assess the risks associated with the loading operation and failed to adequately consider and control the risks arising from pedestrian use of mobile loading ramps.
The investigation found that employees were permitted to access the ramps without handrails. In spite of the fact that the manufacturer of the ramp had specifically advised that pedestrians should not use the ramp unless handrails were fitted.
HSE also found that the company had not sufficiently considered reasonably practicable alternatives that would have avoided work at height altogether, including using existing loading bays or placing containers on the ground before loading.
Employers must properly plan and assess work at height and ensure that it is avoided where it is reasonably practicable to do so. Where work at height cannot be avoided, suitable measures must be in place to prevent falls and protect workers from injury.
