Outrage at 'paltry' fatality fines

News | HSP
30.11.2007

Glasgow Sheriff Court fined ABF Grain Products £19,500 and TNT Logistics £14,000 after a faulty tail lift platform on a truck hit and killed Graham Meldrum at the former Allied Bakery Plant in Glasgow in July 2005.

"It's appalling that the two companies have been able to walk away from court having been fined such a paltry amount given the tragic consequences of their failures," said Grahame Smith, general secretary of the Scottish TUC. Campaigning organisation Families Against Corporate Killers (FACK) also expressed its anger, calling the fines "an insult" to Meldrum's family. Spokesperson Dorothy Wright said: "Graham's partner Karen has been utterly betrayed by the justice system which treats involuntary homicide by employers in the workplace as a minor misdemeanour compared with involuntary homicide in the rest of society."

Meldrum had not received adequate training and information on the use of the Ratcliff RV1500LC cam closure tail lift and the equipment was not properly maintained. The court heard that ABF staff had raised concerns about trailers as early as 1997 and that TNT, which supplied Meldrum via an agency, had only trained him for 90 minutes in a truck with different mechanisms.
ABF admitted three charges, while TNT pleaded guilty to a single charge. On 5 November, Sheriff Norman Ritchie QC fined ABF and TNT £14,000 each under Section 3(1) of the Health and Safety at Work Act for failing to ensure Meldrum's safety. He fined ABF a further £3,500 and £2,000 for breaching Regulations 5(1) and 8(1) of the Provision and Use of Work Equipment Regulations.