Stoke firm fined £300k after worker injured by falling metal hopper

Summarised from 2 outlets · Updated 27 Oct, 06:32 · Archive

Manufacturing company E H Hassell & Sons Limited has been fined £300,000 after a one-tonne metal hopper fell on a worker's head.

A one-tonne metal hopper fell from a forklift truck and struck Gary Taylor, 63, on the head at E H Hassell & Sons Limited in Stoke-on-Trent on 24 March 2025. Taylor was among several workers unloading a lorry trailer containing steel components for a large filtration system. The workers had improvised a system using a forklift truck, placing the forks underneath the unsecured load to lift it from the trailer bed. As it slid from the forks, it struck Taylor in the head.

Taylor suffered fractures to his skull, neck and spine, along with two broken ribs and severe cuts to his forehead. He spent three weeks in hospital and was off work for seven months. The firm pleaded guilty to breaching lifting regulations and has been fined £300,000. A Health and Safety Executive investigation found that the lifting operation had not been properly planned by a competent person.

Taylor said the accident had left him profoundly changed. 'During my time off recuperating from my injuries, the seven months I was off work, I had no interest in anything,' he said. He expressed concern about his future health and the emotional impact on his family, saying he hoped to 'become more like the old man I used to be – a supportive husband, father and grandfather'.

How it is being reported

• Stoke-on-Trent firm fined £300k after Gary fractures skullGary Taylor is a 'shadow of his former self'StokeonTrentLive · 27 Oct, 05:20
• Company fined £300k after worker hit by tonne of metalGary Taylor fractured his skull, neck and spine in the incident at E H Hassell & Sons in Stoke-on-Trent.BBC Stoke And Staffordshire · 26 Oct, 13:30

In this story: Gary Taylor · E H Hassell & Sons Limited · Stoke-on-Trent · Health and Safety Executive

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