Tragedy as Sheffield man dies at work after car he was underneath falls on him
Rutland Autos Body Limited had “no history of incidents or accidents reported to them in the past”
A 51-year-old man from Sheffield died after he was trapped under a car whilst at work, an inquest heard.
Ian Findlay was a panel beater and painter at Rutland Autos Body Limited, on Rutland Road, Sheffield, where he died on July 23, 2025, after the hydraulic trolley jack used to raise the vehicle he was preparing for removal, dropped.
The inquest heard that when the vehicle, a Mercedes car, dropped, Mr Findlay was alive at this point, but was left in a “critical condition”.
Charlotte Bligh, an investigator at HSE, said in a statement to the court: “Ian worked under the car and the jack became dislodged. A recovery truck driver re lifted the car back up again.
“We looked at information provided to the police, and this was not usual for them to work under a jack.”
She stated that South Yorkshire Police arrived to examine the vehicle and the trolley but “no issues were identified”.
When referring to her investigation, she told the court that when working under a hydraulic jack, something called ‘axel stands’ should be used, and in this case, they were not.
An axel stand is a support device used to hold a vehicle safely in the air after it has been lifted by a hydraulic jack.
Miss Bligh said: “No axel stands were under the vehicle but there were axel stands available.”
When addressing the jury, she explained that it is down to the company to decide how they explain risk factors within their working environments. However, there was no examination certificate for the hydraulic press used in this incident.
She confirmed to the coroner, Rebecca Connell, that Rutland Autos Body Limited had “no history of incidents or accidents reported to them in the past”.
Matthew Charles, who raised the vehicle off Mr Findlay on the day of the incident, appeared in court to give his witness statement.
On July 23, 2025, Mr Charles attended Rutland Auto Body’s on a job, and when he was sorting out payment, the woman he was speaking to suddenly looked shocked, the inquest heard.
This was the point Mr Charles turned around to find the car had dropped onto Mr Findlay.
He said: “I saw Ian laid under the car. I was in a panic and got the car jack, trying to put it back under the car to get it off him, I was just in that much of a rush.
“I got the car up off him and was shouting to get axel stands or something. By then, the owner came out, I said ‘don’t move him’ because I knew he wasn’t good.”
After raising the car, he called for help from people in the surrounding area, and emergency services were notified.
The inquest at Sheffield’s Medico Legal Centre is expected to last four days.
The inquest continues.