Dungannon: Horticulture firm fined after worker Phillip Moore's death

The fine was handed down on Friday at Dungannon Crown Court and followed a HSENI investigation

A horticulture company based in Dungannon, County Tyrone, has been fined £130,000 after a man died at its production site in June 2020.

Phillip Moore, 38, was a shift manager at Westland Horticulture's site at the Granville Industrial Estate.

He sustained fatal injuries after being struck by an industrial loading shovel which was being operated by another employee in the yard area.

The fine was handed down on Friday at Dungannon Crown Court.

It followed an investigation by the Health and Safety Executive for Northern Ireland (HSENI), which found that Westland Horticulture failed to take "reasonably practicable steps" to ensure employee safety.

The company, which supplies a variety of garden products including compost, seeds and wild bird food, had already pleaded guilty to a single health and safety offence at an earlier court hearing.

Mr Moore's death 'preventable'

HSENI major investigation team inspector Lee Dougan said that the "tragic death" was "completely preventable".

"HSENI will not hesitate to take enforcement action to ensure workplace transport risks are appropriately managed," he said.

"Vehicles at work continue to be a significant cause of fatal and major injuries in Northern Ireland.

"In the last 10 years, 34 people have lost their life through workplace transport incidents and 162 people were seriously injured."

Mr Dougan added "effective control measures need not be complicated" and said detailed advice on managing workplace transport risks is readily available to employers.

Enforcement action was taken by health and safety inspectors following the incident to ensure steps were taken to protect employees and others working on the site near to moving vehicles.