Sponsored by
Steel company fined over death
STEEL firm Corus has been fined £170,000 after a worker was crushed to death by a massive 260kg metal block which fell on him at a factory in Rotherham.
Shane Eastwood, aged 34, died in an "entirely avoidable accident", Sheffield Crown Court heard, when a crane hoist rope broke at the company's Brinsworth strip mill site.
The court was told a limit switch fitted to the crane was defective, allowing the hoist rope to over-tighten and snap.
Mr Eastwood was hit by the massive metal block after it plunged almost 23 feet from its hoist.
He was pronounced dead at the scene of the accident in July 2003.
Yesterday Corus UK Ltd pleaded guilty to breaching the Health and Safety at Work Act by failing to ensure the safety of an employee.
The firm was fined 170,000 and ordered to pay additional costs of 30,000.
HSE Inspector David Bradley said: "This was a tragic and entirely avoidable accident.
"The limit switch fitted to this crane to prevent over-hoisting was a safety critical device. It should have been properly maintained in a safe working condition, and regularly tested.
"The fact that these simple measures were not taken led to this tragic death."
Companies should put in place proper safety precautions and procedures to ensure the safety at work of their employees, he added.
Ian Fretwell, director of Corus Engineering Steels, said: "I would like to express my sincere sympathy to Shane Eastwood's family on behalf of everyone at Corus.
"Shane worked for us for 16 years. He was well-liked and respected by his colleagues, and he has been sorely missed. The most important objective after such a tragic accident is to learn the lessons from what happened.
"Immediately after the accident we carried out a detailed investigation and co-operated fully with the Health and Safety Executive.
"Changes have been made to our safety systems and operating practices to ensure an accident like this can never happen again.
"Safety is our number one priority throughout Corus and our safety performance at the Brinsworth site and across Corus' many sites has significantly improved over the last five years."
READ MORE
Main news index
Latest sport.
Readers' Letters
Holidays and Travel
Check out the very latest on South Yorkshire's roads - including live traffic cameras on Sheffield's commuter routes - with our Traffic section
Email to a friend
Print this page
Looking for...
Featured advertisers
Jobs
Search for a job
Motors
Search for a car
Property
Search for a house
Weather for Sheffield
Wednesday 08 February 2012
Today
Sunny spells
Temperature: -3 C to 0 C
Wind Speed: 12 mph
Wind direction: South east
Tomorrow
Light sleet
Temperature: 1 C to 2 C
Wind Speed: 8 mph
Wind direction: South west
