Mansfield firm's electrician fractured skull and broke 8 ribs after 35ft high lift knocked over

A Nottinghamshire business has been fined after one of its electricians fell more than 30 feet and shattered several bones. The 52-year-old electrical worker, employed by Mansfield-based Optilight Electrical Services Ltd, had been repairing light fittings at Expert Tooling and Automation Ltd’s site in Coventry on September 21, 2022, when the scissor lift he was working on was knocked over by a crane.

The Sheffield man suffered a fractured skull, two brain bleeds, a broken collarbone, eight broken ribs, a broken elbow and wrist as well as a punctured lung. He was later placed in an induced coma and underwent several operations.

The Health and Safety Executive (HSE) found the worker was in the cage of a raised scissor lift 35 feet high when a Expert Tooling staff member began to move a nearby overhead crane, unaware of the electrician. The crane then collided with the scissor lift, causing it to twist and hit nearby racking before landing on the factory floor.

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A second worker at Optilight Electrical narrowly avoided being crushed by the scissor lift, jumping out of the way before it landed on the floor, HSE said. Inspector Charlotte Cunniffe explained HSE's investigation showed both companies had incorrectly assumed the other had taken precautions to prevent safety risks.

“This case clearly illustrates the disastrous consequences that can occur when two companies each assume the other has taken responsibility for safe working practice," Ms Cunniffe said. "Risk often arises through a failure to communicate effectively.”

Safety investigators also found Optilight Electrical had not identified the operation of overhead cranes as a potential risk to its employees. For its part Expert Tooling did not put procedures in place to prevent the use of overhead cranes while the work at height was taking place.

Optilight Electrical Services Limited, of Oakwood Road, Mansfield, Nottinghamshire, pleaded guilty to breaching Section 2(1) of the Health and Safety at Work etc. Act 1974. The company was fined £7,000 and ordered to pay £1,985.97 in costs at Birmingham Magistrates’ Court on April 29.

Expert Tooling & Automation Ltd, of Sayer Drive, Coventry, West Midlands, pleaded guilty to breaching Section 3(1) of the Health and Safety at Work etc. Act 1974. The company was fined £50,000 and ordered to pay £1,985.97 in costs at Birmingham Magistrates’ Court on April 29.