By Firm fined over death of two Doncaster workers
A welding firm has been fined following the deaths of two workers from Doncaster.
It is alleged that both men died in a car crash, after bosses broke health and safety rules which resulted in one of the two men falling asleep behind the wheel.
Renown Consultants Limited have been convicted under the Health and Safety for Work Act, for failing to ensure that employees Zac Payne, 20, from Balby, and Michael Morris, 48, from Scawthorpe, were sufficiently rested to work and travel safely.
They were fined £450,000 alongside £300,000 in costs.
In light of the coronavirus outbreak, the sentence was passed virtually by HHJ Godsmark sitting at Nottingham Crown Court, after Renown Consultants Limited were found guilty following by the Office of Rail and Road.
Both men died on 19 June 2013 while traveling in a company van back to Doncaster after a night shift in Stevenage in the early hours of the morning on the A1 near Claypole.
It is thought that their van collided with a parked lorry, after Mr Payne, who was driving, fell asleep at the wheel.
Ian Prosser, HM Chief Inspector of Railways said:
“Our thoughts remain with the family and friends of Mr Payne and Mr Morris, and I hope this result brings them peace.”
The judge found Mr Payne was driving the van at the time of the incident, despite the company’s insurance policy stating only over 25s may drive their vehicles.
The company accepted during the trial that under 25s frequently drove its vehicles.
The judge said Renown’s gravest failing was to not perform a suitable and sufficient risk assessment on the day before the fatalities, which led to the company failing to comply with its own fatigue management procedures.
He said that the company’s practices did it comply with working time limits for safety critical work, such as welding and trackside work, which insist there should be a ‘minimum rest period of 12 hours between booking off from a turn of duty to booking on for the next’.
In his closing remarks, His Honour Judge Godsmark said:
“Operations and managers knew what they were supposed to do in relation to fatigue but lip service was paid to these systems.”
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