02.02.2011

Boom unloading accident

A man in his mid-30s was seriously injured this morning near Burnley, UK after the large telescopic boom lift he was unloading from a truck slipped off the edge of the trailer and flipped over.

The accident happened at the site of the former Groves Hotel, in the town of Nelson, north of Burnley and Manchester. The injured man was taken by helicopter to a local hospital.

The man was in platform and driving the lift off of the low loader, local reports suggest he was still in the platform after the machine flipped onto its side.
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The overturned lift

We do not know if the driver was using a harness and lanyard when unloading. The fact that he was still in the platform suggests that he might have been. He is said to have a broken shoulder and possible neck injuries but was conscious and when the emergency services arrived and is in a stable condition.

We still do not know the owner of the lift or delivery truck, the very poor photographs we were sent showed a truck and machine in a liverly very similar to that of the Lavendon group, which has strict policies on the wearing of harnesses by delivery drivers when unloading. However Lavendon has confirmed that none of its staff or equipment were involved in this accident.