THE FAMILY of a man who died after he was hit by a falling bail of scrap metal said they hope lessons will be learnt from his death.
Delivery driver Adrian Turner, 50, of Wolverhampton, died when he was unloading his lorry at the Sims Metal site, Newport Docks, on April 28, 2008.
He was hit by a scrap metal bale, which fell from a pile being worked on by Stephen Luckett, 40, of Frobisher Road, Somerton. Mr Luckett was acquitted of his manslaughter following a trial last month.
Sims Group UK Ltd, was fined £200,000 on at Cardiff Crown Court on Wednesday (APRIL 14) after previously admitting a charge under the Health and Safety at Work Act 1974.
A statement from Mr Turner’s family following the hearing said while the financial penalty offered little comfort to them they hoped it served as a warning to other companies.
It said: “It should be an absolute priority to ensure death and injury to employees and others on site is avoided.
"We have been torn apart by Adrian's death and wish that no other family has to endure the loss of a loved one in the manner we did."
At sentencing the court heard that at the time of the accident some workers did not fully understand some of the company's health and safety guidelines.
Following the incident the firm carried out a health and safety review at all its European sites and introduced new measures including a video, which all delivery drivers must watch, to ensure safe working.
Health and Safety Executive inspector, Sarah Baldwin-Jones, said: “This tragic incident arose because it was custom for the loading of scrap onto the stockpile even though delivery drivers were in the immediate vicinity of it. Unfortunately, death or serious injury was an inevitable consequence."
She added that metal recycling yards could be extremely dangerous places so it is imperative companies have safe working procedures and systems in place that are observed by all staff and contractors.
As well as the fine, Sims was ordered to pay £5,000 funeral and out-of-pocket costs to Mrs Turner who is also awaiting the outcome of a civil claims proceeding for compensation.
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