The terrifying moment a worker fell from lift in Coventry factory and fractured his skull

This is the horrifying moment a worker fell from a scissor lift at a factory in Coventry and fractured his skull. It left the electrician needing to be put into an induced coma in hospital.

The 52-year-old, who has not been named but is from Sheffield, was in the cage of a raised scissor lift at Expert Tooling and Automation Ltd’s site on Sayer Drive. The Optilight Electrical Services Ltd employee had been repairing light fittings at the site.

It was while he was in the lift that another worker at Expert Tooling began to operate a nearby overhead crane. The Health and Safety Executive (HSE) say they did not notice the electrician in the scissor lift.

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The crane then collided with the scissor lift, which was approximately 35ft high, causing it to twist and hit nearby racking before landing on the factory floor. The electrician fell out of cage as it plummeted towards the ground, hitting his head on the floor.

It left him with 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 in hospital and had to undergo several operations.

The HSE say a second worker also narrowly avoided being crushed by the scissor lift, jumping out of the way before it landed on the floor. As a result of the incident on September 21, 2022, the HSE launched an investigation.

This found that Optilight Electrical had not identified the operation of overhead cranes as a risk to its employees that were working at height at Expert Tooling’s site. It also discovered that Expert Tooling did not put procedures in place to prevent the use of overhead cranes while the work at height was taking place.

Expert Tooling instead relied on contractors identifying risks and implementing control measures, rather than ensuring procedures were already in place. It was found that both companies did not communicate to each other how the work they were undertaking could impact their staff’s safety at the site.

'Disastrous consequences'

As a result, the HSE prosecuted both companies. They both appeared at Birmingham Magistrates Court on April 29.

Expert Tooling & Automation Ltd 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.

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.

Speaking after the court case, HSE inspector Charlotte Cunniffe said: "This case clearly illustrates the disastrous consequences that can occur when two companies each assume the other has taken responsibility for safe working practices. Risk often arises through a failure to communicate effectively."

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