Food Manufacturer Fined After Employee’s Skull Crushed by Metal Pillar

One of the UK’s largest food manufacturers has been fined £14,000 after one of its workers had his skull crushed by a metal pillar in one of their bakeries.

In July 2008, Thomas Williams, 61, had been working with a colleague to remove cages and pillars from a storage area at Manor Bakeries in Moreton. Mr Williams was levering a pillar free when a 13ft section of the pillar became detached from the ceiling and fell on his head.

Suffering severe brain and spinal injuries, Mr Williams spent more than six months in hospital, and now has such difficulty moving that his wife has had to give up her job in order to look after him.

An investigation from the Health and Safety Executive (HSE) found that Premier Foods had breached Section 2(1) of the Health and Safety at Work Act, by not properly planning the task and not training their workers on how to carry out the task safely.

Phil Redman, the investigating inspector from the HSE, said: “A man’s life has been turned upside down because basic health and safety procedures weren’t followed. Premier Foods could have brought in specialists to carry out the work but instead Mr Williams and a colleague were just told to get on with the job.

“Mr Williams did not have any previous experience of carrying out this kind of work, and he should not have been put in a position where he had to make decisions about how to do it.”

A spokesman for Premier Foods said: “Premier Foods has an excellent health and safety record and takes its responsibilities extremely seriously, and steps have been taken to prevent a similar incident occurring.”

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Ref: PRS-HS-10910