A Rochdale company has been fined £140,000 after an employee was crushed to death by a 1.5 tonne pallet of bags. Abel Lages, 38, was a cleaner at TS (UK) Ltd and died at the scene as a result of severe injury when a wooden pallet containing 55 bags of polypropylene fell on him whilst he swept around them, causing fatal crush injuries. The accident happened in 2005. The bags featured labelling with instructions on how they should be correctly stored, but this advice was ignored.

The Health and Safety Executive (HSE) prosecuted the company, who admitted that they had failed to ensure the safety of their employees. They did not have any trained first aid personnel amongst their workforce. The HSE said the company had demonstrated a lax attitude to health and safety on the premises in the time leading up to the accident. The court heard that there was also a reluctance to spend money on health and safety measures, and profit was put before safety.

An HSE inspector commented that the TS (UK) Ltd did not treat the health and safety of its workers as a priority. The company were also ordered to pay £10,588 costs.

Thompsons  have years of experience in assisting the families’ of fatal accident victims.  We understand the first and most important thing that a family need and demand is answers!  Without answers as to what happened and why it happened they cannot move on with their lives, they need to know that no other family will be affected as they have been by the loss of a loved one.

Contact our specialist accident compensation lawyers today on 0800 0891331 and we will help you obtain the answers to your questions.  Our No Win No Fee policy means that we take care of the financial burden of legal action at an already stressful time for clients.