Company fined after man crushed by his own vehicle at garage

A garage has been fined £12,000 after a customer was crushed by his own vehicle in North London.

According to the Health and Safety Executive, the 62-year-old is ‘lucky to be alive’ after he sustained serious and life-changing injuries.

According to The Health and Safety Executive, Mahmut Emanet had taken his company vehicle to be serviced at Silver Street Service Garage Limited on College Close, on 15 August 2022.

The company director, Mr. Seyit Dilek, left him standing under the vehicle while it was raised on a vehicle lift. But as Mr. Dilek walked away it fell off the lift and on to Mr. Emanet.

Mr. Emanet spent six days in a critical care unit and has been left with permanent and life changing injuries as a result.

According to figures, 24 workers in the motor vehicle repair industry have been killed in work-related accidents in the last five years, with the fatal injury rate in the motor vehicle repair industry around five times the average rate across all industries. Recent research suggests that over half of all fatal injuries in the sector were caused by work under a poorly supported vehicle.

The HSE investigation found that Silver Street Service Garage Limited failed to ensure that members of the public were not exposed to health and safety risks. The company also failed to ensure that the equipment had been thoroughly examined for any defects.

Company director Mr. Dilek was in control of the garage at the time of the incident. He was directly responsible for the way work was conducted and access was managed on site. He failed to ensure that members of the public were not exposed to health and safety risks.

Silver Street Service Garage Limited of College Close, London, pleaded guilty to a breach of Section 3(1) of the Health and Safety at Work etc. Act 1974 and guilty to a contravention of Regulation 9(3)(a)(ii) of the Lifting Operations and Lifting Equipment Regulations 1998. The company was fined £12,000 and was ordered to pay £2406 costs at a hearing at Westminster Magistrates’ Court on 7 December 2023.

At the same hearing, Mr. Dilek of Waltham Abbey, London, pleaded guilty to a breach of Section 3(1) by virtue of Section 37(1) of the Health and Safety at Work etc. Act 1974. He was fined £500 and was ordered to pay £1500 costs

After the hearing, HSE Inspector Michelle Morphy said:

“Mr. Emanet is lucky to be alive. This incident could have been avoided if he had simply been asked to stay in the waiting area provided for members of the public.

“Instead, not only was he left to move freely around the two-post vehicle lift on which his vehicle was raised, he was asked by a director of the business to assist with the work being carried out, in the minutes before it fell.”

Accidents in public places – The law

Accidents that occur on property or land owned by somebody else are called Occupiers’ Liability accidents. This can include accidents which occur in buildings, on ‘premises’ or on land which is not controlled by you or your employer.

Premises can include land and buildings, as well as any fixed or moveable structure, and can cover anything from shops, offices, public buildings, aircraft, and houses.

There is a duty of care that is owed to lawful visitors under the Occupiers’ Liability Act 1957 to take reasonable care to ensure that visitors will be reasonably safe when using the premises. The Occupiers Liability Act 1984 covers people other than visitors, such as trespassers.

The duty owed by occupiers is “to take care as is reasonable in all the circumstances of the case to see that they are not injured on the premises by the danger concerned”.

Further reading

Accidents in public places – Oakwood Solicitors

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