Colleagues ran to help a man after he was crushed to death by a faulty cherry picker.
Uldis Senkans, 30, was killed when he became trapped between the cherry picker and the steel beams of a building he was working on at the CEW Recycling Group site on Merton Steet, St Helens, on November 8, 2019.
He was found by co-workers at around 3.45pm, and remained pinned to the building for more than two hours before he was freed by emergency services and pronounced dead at 6.11pm.
An coroner's investigation this week was unable to reach a short-form verdict. Instead, a narrative conclusion was handed down by a jury following several hours of deliberation.
READ MORE: Man crushed to death at recycling centre
Coroner Graham Jackson said: "On the 8th of November 2019, whilst working alone as a site worker, Mr Uldis Senkans received crush injuries to his chest, which proved fatal. No medical or toxicology reason has been identified for this incident."
The court heard that the the 2006 Niftylift cherry picker, which was owned by Mr Senkans' employer RM Gibbons LTD, was found to have 15 severe defects when it was examined, including three which may have caused or contributed to the fatal incident.
A lever used to operate the cherry picker remained stuck in place after being moved, instead of returning to a neutral position as it should have. A foot switch also used to operate the machine was badly damaged, and a joystick was sticking in place.
Health and safety inspector Frances Ellis said: "It's the opinion of a thorough examiner that these defects should be within category A, which poses a danger to people and should be rectified prior to the machine going back in operation. I agree with the man who did this examination, that these defects are very severe, and they should have been rectified if the machine was going to be put into use."
Mr Senkans, who was born in Rezekne, Latvia, and lived in Skelmersdale, had been contracted to work on a new building at the recycling centre, and had received training for operating the cherry picker in September 2019.
The court was unable to determine exactly how he came to be trapped between the cherry picker and the building on November 8, as there were no witnesses to the incident.
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