A milking company has been fined £7,500 after a Preston man was left with a fractured skull when he was hit by a steel beam just a day after he started a new job.
The 49-year-old, who has asked not to be named, was helping an engineer install a milking parlour at Thurvaston, Derbyshire in July 2011.
He was working for United Milking Systems when the incident happened.
A Health and Safety Executive-led prosecution at Derby Magistrates Court heard the employee was off work for six weeks after suffering a fractured skull and lacerations.
HSE inspector Edward Walker said: “This was an incident waiting to happen owing to a series of failures.
“The company failed to plan the work properly and failed to assess the risks.”
The court heard how two workers were installing four 80kg beams at a height of two metres.
At was at that point when one beam slipped, sending the beam falling onto the other employee’s head.
Shropshire-based United Milking Systems admitted breaching health and safety regulation.
The company was also ordered to pay £5,000 costs by magistrates.
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