A Staffordshire manufacturing company, E H Hassell & Sons Limited, has been fined £300,000 after a worker was left with life-changing injuries during an improperly planned lifting operation.
The incident occurred on 24 March 2025 when Gary Taylor, then 63, was helping unload steel components for a large filtration system at the company’s Trentham site. Workers had improvised a method using a forklift truck to lift an unsecured metal hopper from a trailer. As the load slipped from the forks, it struck Mr Taylor in the head.
Mr Taylor suffered skull, neck and spinal fractures, two broken ribs and a severe forehead laceration. He spent three weeks in hospital and was unable to work for seven months. He later described himself as becoming “a shadow of my former self” following the accident.
An investigation by the Health and Safety Executive (HSE) found the lifting operation had not been properly planned, the load had not been adequately assessed, and no safe system of work had been put in place.
The company pleaded guilty to breaching Regulation 8(1) of the Lifting Operations and Lifting Equipment Regulations 1998 and was fined £300,000, with additional costs of £5,690, at Birmingham Magistrates’ Court on 23 October 2026.
Key takeaway: This case highlights the serious consequences of failing to properly plan lifting operations and ensure loads are secured before manual handling or forklift movements take place.
