Haulage firm fined £250,000 over worker's death

The case was heard at Teesside Crown Court in Middlesbrough

A haulage firm has been fined £250,000 after a worker was fatally injured by falling metal frames in a shipping container.

Gary Lee James, a yard hand at Ward Brothers (Malton) Ltd's depot at South Bank, Teesside, was stripping clothing frames weighing up to 120kg (18st 13lb) when he was pinned at the back of a container as five of the heavy racks fell in January 2019.

The 30-year-old, of Middlesbrough, died three days later having suffered asphyxia, cardiac arrest and brain injury.

The firm pleaded guilty to a health and safety breach and was sentenced at Teesside Crown Court, with the judge hearing dangerous work was being carried out by "trial and error".

Mr James, of Ida Road, and a 16-year-old boy were doing hazardous work in darkness without hard hats or adequate training, the court was told on Friday.

Adam Birkby, prosecuting for the Health and Safety Executive (HSE), described the firm as having "embarked upon an ad hoc and ultimately unsafe system of work which was not effectively communicated to employees who were left largely unsupervised to determine their own methods".

He said employees struggling with the work days earlier were told: "I don't care how you do it, just get on with it."

Family left 'broken'

They were also told to stack the frames vertically rather than horizontally to fit more in a container, and six untethered frames ended up leaning inside the container after it was moved over the Christmas period.

Mr James and a colleague tried to stand them up again on 8 January.

As they moved a frame, the other five toppled, pinning Mr James until other workers - who needed a torch to see in the container - managed to get them off.

A specialist HSE inspector concluded the work was organised by "trial and error" with employees "left to their own devices to dismantle, remove and store welded frames".

Mr Birkby said the company "fell far short of the appropriate standard by failing to put in place measures that are recognised standards in the industry".

Statements from loved ones said Mr James' death had left them "broken".

His father, Paul, expressed "disgust" towards the company, saying it had not been in touch since the incident, while his partner, Charlene Brown, recalled the morning before his death.

"Gary kissed me on the forehead on his way out and said 'see you later'.

"You just don't expect your partner to leave for work and to not come home. I cannot imagine ever getting over the loss."

'Huge void'

The company, which had a turnover of almost £15.9m in 2024, pleaded guilty to failing to discharge its duty of ensuring employees' health and safety.

It was charged after Mr James' inquest concluded in January this year, with a jury finding the company's failings contributed to his death.

Simon Kealey KC, defending, said company director Steven Ward, who is vice-chair of the Road Haulage Association's northern branch, expressed "deep sorrow" to Mr James' family for their loss which was felt by the company "at the highest level".

The prosecution accepted Mr Ward did not know about the change to stacking the frames vertically.

Mr Kealey said the family firm had been running since the 1990s and had been a "safe place to work" with an otherwise "exemplary" health and safety record.

He added the company had since recruited health and safety specialists on site and stopped the work that claimed Mr James' life.

Mr Kealey described the firm's financial position as "extremely precarious", with a profit margin of less than 1%, and said jobs would be put at risk by a fine.

Passing sentence, Judge Francis Laird KC, the Recorder of Middlesbrough, expressed his "deepest sympathies" to Mr James' family, saying his death left a "huge void".