Strimmer attachment banned and company fined after tragic accident
A tragic accident left a family of four without a father when an attachment came loose from a strimmer and struck a man on the back of the neck. The man had been working on the construction site of a new business park, clearing vegetation with a chainsaw.
A colleague was working on a nearby bank using the strimmer, when a chain link became detached and hit the 37-year-old man, causing fatal injuries.
The subsequent HSE investigation found that the work had not been planned properly: the risks associated with using the attachment had not been properly evaluated, and the two men were allowed to work in close proximity to each other despite the potential for accidents to occur.
As a result of the investigation and successful prosecution, the company employing the two workers was fined £15,000 and ordered to pay £10,000 costs.
This may provide little comfort for the family now bereft of a father, although the piece of equipment that caused the accident has now been subjected to a Europe-wide ban. Hopefully, this will now prevent further fatal accidents.