The Stone Company UK Ltd, of Great Baddow, near Chelmsford, Essex, has been fined £20,000 with £40,000 costs for safety failings after a worker was crushed to death when artificial stone slabs weighing three tonnes fell on him.

Martin Rice, 57, was unloading a delivery vehicle and placing the slabs in storage on A-frames in a warehouse when the incident occurred on 28 April 2009.

As he lowered a bundle of 11 slabs, weighing approximately three tonnes, the bundle fell over and crushed him against the wall of the building. The father-of-four died of his injuries at the scene.

Chelmsford Crown Court heard on 3 July this year that the Health & Safety Executive (HSE) investigated the death and found The Stone Company had operated an unsafe system of work for handling and storing stone slabs. The Stone Company UK pleaded guilty to breaching section 2(1) of the Health and Safety at Work etc Act 1974. The A-frames in use were poorly sited and because of that were inappropriate within the confines of the warehouse.

After the hearing, HSE Inspector Richard Rajham, said: “A family has had their lives devastated by this tragic incident. The system of work for handling slabs of stone was dangerous, and Martin’s death could have been avoided with some simple modifications to the layout of the storage area and to the storage equipment being used.

“It is vital that work of this nature is carefully planned and monitored, and that employee safety is of paramount importance at all times.”

In February 2010, following Martin’s death and other similar incidents, HSE issued a safety alert on the handling and storage of large sheet stone slabs. You can see it at the website below.