Worker dies after being crushed by falling slabs as firm fined £18,000

13 March 2024 , 15:33

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Robert Czachracz was crushed to death (Image: BPM MEDIA)

A worker died after being crushed against a forklift truck when two granite slabs fell on him as he operated an overhead crane.

Robert Czachracz was unpacking and moving the slabs on to storage racks at Graniteland Limited in Halesowen, West Midlands when the tragedy happened on November 30, 2020. He was operating the crane when the slabs, weighing 250kg each, fell. The 46 year old from Poland died at the scene despite desperate attempts from bystanders at nearby businesses and medics to save him.

A Health and Safety Executive investigation found Graniteland Limited and its director, Shu Lai Li, failed to implement staff training or develop safe systems of work for the unloading, loading and handling of concrete slabs. The HSE said there was no evidence that employees had received training in the safe operation of machinery, including the overhead crane.

The investigation found that the overhead crane and forklift truck had not been thoroughly examined, as required by law, and webbing slings, which could have been used during the unpacking process, were damaged. Graniteland Limited, of Lyde Green, Halesowen, pleaded guilty to breaching Section 2(1) of the Health and Safety at Work etc. Act 1974.

The firm was fined £18,000 and ordered to pay £4,196.03 in costs and a £180 victim surcharge at Dudley Magistrates’ Court on last week. The director also pleaded guilty to breaching Section 37(1) of the Health and Safety at Work etc. Act 1974 was given a 12-month community order and was ordered to complete 120 hours of unpaid work and pay £4,043.42 in costs and a £95 victim surcharge.

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Following the court hearing, HSE inspector Mahesh Mahey, said: “This was an entirely preventable accident. The risks of lifting and moving granite slabs were obvious, yet could have been controlled by relatively simple and inexpensive measures. The company and director failed to adequately control lifting operations which resulted in an employee needlessly and tragically losing his life.”

Kelly-Ann Mills