Glasgow company fined £80,000 after employee fractured skull removing dead cattle from lorry

A company has been fined £80,000 after a member of staff sustained a fractured skull while moving dead cattle in Glasgow.

A Health and Safety Executive (HSE) investigation found Grayshill Limited failed to “carry out the correct control measures and safe working practices” at its site near Cumbernauld.

An employee at the firm – which specialises in the removal and disposal of dead livestock – was struck by a telehandler bucket while working on October 19, 2022.

The worker sustained a broken clavicle, a ripped earlobe and haematomas down his right side when removing cattle from the back of a lorry.

The HSE found the telehandler bucket became detached and struck him and that Grayshill “failed to implement a safe system of work for the use of quick hitches on the telehandler”.

A quick hitch is a latching device that enables, in this case, the bucket, to be connected to the arm of the telehandler and changed quickly.

A manual quick hitch requires an operator to manually insert a metal pin from the latching device to secure the attachment.

On the morning of October 19, 2022, a self-employed agricultural engineer had serviced the telehandler, which included removing the bucket.

However the HSE found the engineer did not correctly reattach it onto the telehandler after the service was complete.

The investigation found that the securing pin for the quick hitch had not been reinserted.

HSE principal inspector Hazel Dobb said: “This was a serious incident that has resulted in a worker sustaining horrific injuries.

“We thoroughly investigated this incident and found Grayshill Limited failed to carry out the correct control measures and safe working practices at its site in Glasgow.

“The company also failed to check its vehicles after they had been serviced and repaired to ensure they were safe for use.”

Grayshill Limited, of Mollins Road, Cumbernauld, Glasgow, pleaded guilty to breaching the Health and Safety at Work etc. Act 1974.

The company was fined £80,000 and ordered to pay a victim surcharge of £6,000 at Airdrie Sheriff Court on Monday, October 28, 2024.

Grayshill Limited has been contacted for comment.