Halfords Autocentre fined for lack of fall protective workwear

Halfords Autocentre depot in Acocks Green, Birmingham has been fined by the Health and Safety Executive for safety failing after a worker was hit by a reversing transit van, which may have been avoided with some protective workwear.

Michelle Sloan, 45, was parked in front of the centre to unload parts. She was reaching into the backseats when the van reversed into her door, closing it and trapping her legs.

She suffered a torn tendon in the left knee and a severed tendon in the right. A year later she is still finding walking difficult, leaving her unable to work.

Halfords Autocentre has been fined for the incident that happened last October for not putting reasonable safety measures in place to ensure pedestrians and vehicles are separate on the site.

Due to a breach of the Workplace (Health, Safety and Welfare) Regulations 1992, it was fined £5,000 and had to pay £5,000 in costs.

"The woman has suffered severe and debilitating injuries as a result of the company’s safety failings," said HSE inspector Matt Whitaker.

"Although it has since made improvements, it is disappointing that it took an incident of this nature for these changes to be made."
 

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