Firm fined after worker hit by tonne of metal

A man suffered "life-changing" injuries when he was struck by a one-tonne metal hopper when it fell off a forklift truck.

Gary Taylor, who was 63 at the time, suffered fractures to his skull, neck and spine, as well as two broken ribs and a severe cuts to his forehead when he was hit by the insecure load.

Manufacturing company E H Hassell & Sons Limited on Newstead Industrial Estate in Trentham, Stoke-on-Trent, has been fined £300,000. It happened on 24 March 2025 and led to Taylor spending three weeks in hospital as well as needing seven months off work.

The firm pleaded guilty to breaching lifting regulations.

Taylor was one of several workers involved in unloading a trailer containing various steel components for a large filtration system, HSE said.

The workers had improvised a system to unload the one-tonne metal hopper with a forklift truck, placing the forks underneath the unsecured load to lift it from the trailer bed.

As it slid from the forks, it struck Taylor in the head as he was standing alongside it.

"During my time off recuperating from my injuries, the seven months I was off work, I had no interest in anything," Taylor said.

"I know my wife thinks that I won't be around with her in my 80s; 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."

An investigation by the Health and Safety Executive (HSE) found that the lifting operation had not been properly planned by a competent person.

The type of load - including its weight, size, centre of gravity and lifting points - had not been suitably assessed, and there was not a safe system of work in place.

HSE guidance states that it is important to properly plan and organise lifting operations so that they can be carried out in a safe manner.

E H Hassell & Sons Limited of Alderflat Drive, Trentham, Staffordshire, pleaded guilty to breaching lifting equipment regulations and was fined £300,000 and ordered to pay £5,690 in costs as well as a £2,000 victim surcharge at a hearing at Birmingham Magistrates Court on 23 October.

"The failures here resulted in an experienced worker suffering life-changing injuries," said HSE inspector Claire Whitehurst.

"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."

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