A car repair company in Bedford has been fined £6,700 for breaching healthy and safety regulations after a mechanic suffered serious injuries at work.
The employee of Automotive Services Ltd was pumping air into a tyre when it split and exploded, sending him flying two metres into the air. Both of the man’s ankles were fractured in the incident, which an investigation proved to be the fault of the servicing garage for not having proper safety measures in place.
While the company may have been found to be at blame for this injury, there will be many occasions when accidents take place through no fault of the employee or the business. In these incidents, having employer’s liability cover as part of a combined motor trade insurance policy will help cover the costs associated with members of staff being hurt in the workplace.
Furthermore, calling upon the services of risk management experts can help ensure accidents at work do not occur, or at least make sure that the company will not be responsible for them if they do.
In the case of Automotive Services, an investigation by officers from Environmental Health at Bedford Borough Council deemed that the company did not have a safe process in place for inflating vehicle tyres and was not following standard industry practices. There was also inadequate training and supervision for employees, Bedfordshire News reported.
The company pleaded guilty to breaching section 2(1) of the Health and Safety at Work Act 1974 and was fined £6,700 and ordered to pay legal costs of £10,385, awarded to Bedford Borough Council.
