A Trillick-based company has been fined £14k after an employee was crushed by a lorry.
Sean Kelly Commercial Ltd on the Corryglass Road was sentenced yesterday at Dungannon Crown Court.
The company pleaded guilty to failing to ensure the health and safety of employees following an incident on October 23, 2023.
On that day, a Scania four-axle beavertail lorry was in the yard when a company manager heard a ‘hissing sound’ coming from a rear tyre.
He sent an employee, who had worked for the firm for 12 years, to inspect the wheel when the lorry’s airbags burst, causing the bed to drop, crushing the employee.
The court heard that the victim suffered ‘serious injuries’ and required an air ambulance to take him to the Royal Victoria Hospital in Belfast.
He was kept in a coma for three days and remained in the intensive care ward for a further five days.
Sean Kelly Commercial Ltd then self-reported themselves to the Health and Safety Executive (HSE) and to the police, co-operating with the investigation but declining to participate in a voluntary interview.
The injured employee then left the company but refused to provide a victim-impact statement.
Defence counsel Jonathan Browne said that the company’s managers ‘deeply regretted’ the incident and were now ‘fully committed to following procedures’.
He added whilst procedure was not followed, the lorry was ‘unloaded and on flat ground’ and that the victim knew the proper procedure but did not follow it.
In sentencing, his honour judge Brian Sherrard gave credit for the company’s guilty plea but noted the seriousness of the injures caused.
He said that whilst the injured employee declined to make a statement, it was lucky that he wasn’t killed.
However, judge Sherrard noted the company’s lack of convictions and good health and safety compliance history.
Judge Sherrard imposed a £14,000 fine on Sean Kelly Commercial Ltd but declined to grant a compensation order.
Speaking after the hearing, HSENI Principal Inspector Justine McIntyre said, “This incident could have been avoided.
“The employee suffered serious injuries, but the outcome really could have been much worse.”
