A transport firm has been fined almost £500,000 following the tragic death of a lorry driver who fell from his vehicle. Christopher Barnes, 69, fell roughly 2.3 metres while unloading the trailer of his vehicle at Cotswold Doors Limited in Fairford on April 23, 2018
District Judge Nicholas Wattam of Cheltenham Magistrates Court ordered the Devereux Development Ltd of Billingham to pay £480,000 plus costs of £12,053.06 and a victim surcharge of £170. The company initially pleaded guilty in April to failing to ensure the health, safety and welfare at work of employees, including Mr Barnes.
An inquest jury then ruled in May 2019 that the driver's was accidental after he suffered an intracranial haemorrhage from the fall from the palletized load on his truck, Teesside Live reports. Following the inquest, however, the Gloucestershire Coroner Katie Skerrett submitted a report designed to prevent similar deaths in future. She sent the report to Cotswold Doors Ltd, Devereux Developments Ltd and the Health and Safety Executive.
