ASDA employee suffers broken jaw
A SUPERMARKET chain has been fined £20,000 following an accident that left a worker with a broken jaw.
A SUPERMARKET chain has been fined £20,000 following an accident in Skelmersdale that left a female worker with a broken jaw.
Asda was fined £20,000 on January 7 at Preston Crown Court after pleading guilty to a charge of breaching Regulation 5 of the Workplace Regulations of 1992.
The high street giant was also ordered to pay prosecution costs of £31,250 to West Lancashire Borough Council.
The accident took place at Asda’s distribution centre on Stanley Industrial Estate in Skelmersdale, when the worker was driving a fork lift truck under a roller shutter door.
The door came down on top of the driver’s head without warning, trapping the woman and breaking her jaw.
The victim has now made a full recovery and returned to work at Asda.
A subsequent investigation of the accident, which took place in March 2007, revealed the door had been malfunctioning prior to the incident and had not been repaired properly.
The regulations Asda breached require all workplaces to be maintained in an efficient state.
Councilor Andrew Fowler, portfolio holder for community services and health, said: “The health and safety of employees at premises in our areas is a big priority and when we find that these issues are not being properly protected, we have to take action.
“We are pleased with the outcome of this particular case, which send out a clear message that we will not hesitate to prosecute businesses that don't comply with the law.”
A spokesman for Asda said: “A warehouse door at the depot moved as a result of an unseen technical issue, and unfortunately hit one of our colleagues.
“The colleague received medical treatment for their injury and happily, made a full recovery.
“The problem with the door was immediately repaired by our specialist maintenance contractors and has shown no further faults. We operate a number of similar doors across our depots and this fault had not presented itself previously, nor since this incident.
“The health and safety of our colleagues is our number one priority and we have rigorous procedures for identifying and rectifying potential issues across all our operations. However, in this isolated instance, a fault within the control mechanism for the door was not identified, leading to the accident involving our colleague. We respect the decision of the court in this matter and are above all thankful that our colleague made a full recovery and continues to be a valued member of the Asda team.”
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