A SKIP rental company has gone on trial in the Royal Court for an alleged health-and-safety offence after a runaway truck injured the director of the firm.
The case was brought after the company’s director, Paul Skinner, was hurt as he tried to stop the vehicle.
The circumstances of the case mean that although he was the victim of the accident, appearing in court using a crutch, Mr Skinner is also appearing on behalf of the company, as the defendant in the case.
Crown Advocate Adam Harrison, prosecuting, alleged that the company failed to provide adequate health-and-safety training, specific risk assessments or appropriate supervision, in breach of the 1989 Health and Safety Law.
Yesterday, the court heard that one of the company’s hire trucks failed an MOT test and needed work to fix an imbalance in its brakes.
On 13 October 2022, Mr Skinner, along with two employees, conducted repairs on the truck’s brakes in the company’s workshop at Bradford Farm in St Peter.
This was a test he said he and his employees conducted regularly, every 12 weeks for each of the 27 vehicles they owned.
The court heard Mr Skinner had been in the truck’s cabin to make sure the brakes worked after they replaced a valve. He tested them several times, with his employee Jose Goncalves confirming that they worked.
Mr Skinner left the engine running and the vehicle in gear, but did not engage the handbrake, when he lowered the truck. Mr Skinner then ran after the truck and jumped in to stop it after it began moving, the court heard.
But he did not manage to get into the cab in time, and injured his leg when the vehicle hit another truck that was in its path.
The two employees present at the yard that day described how Mr Skinner’s leg was trapped by the cab door and, when Mr Goncalves managed to open the door, the director fell to the ground. He was later tended to by paramedics.
Advocate David Steenson, defending, said to Mr Goncalves: “The vehicle was jacked up at the back but it was stopped from moving forward because the enormous chock was there.
“Mr Skinner put the vehicle in gear and you checked to see whether the wheels were stopping, and you yelled over to Mr Skinner ‘yes’ or ‘all is fine’.
“You did that a couple of times; you said to Mr Skinner: ‘Everything’s fine’.
“This is where the problem arises, because Mr Skinner got out of the cab without turning off the engine or putting the truck’s handbrake on, and, crucially, leaving it in gear.”
Asked about details of the incident – including whether it was the company that had caused the accident, and whether “any-one who had ever driven a vehicle” would know the truck could move if it was lowered in gear, with the engine running, and without the handbrake applied – Mr Skinner repeatedly replied: “No comment”.
Luis Firmino, a motor traffic officer for DVS who was brought in as an expert witness, said the processes followed at the workshop were not safe enough.
He said: “A trolley jack alone is not very stable and the truck is liable to slip off [if there are] any sudden jerks or movements”.
He said he would use axle stands in almost every case, as these offer a second point of contact. Advocate Harrison asked him: “A trolley jack was used, but an axle stand was not. In your opinion is that a safe way to work?”
Mr Firmino replied: “No.”
The defence pointed out that Mr Firmino, who the court heard had knowledge of similar trucks, had not travelled to see the vehicle in question.
Deputy Bailiff Robert MacRae was presiding. He was joined by two Jurats, the Lieutenant-Bailiff, Robert Christensen, and Michael Berry.
