A worker died from horrific chest injuries after being crushed by a faulty cherry picker, an inquest was told.
Uldis Senkans, 30, was trapped for more than two hours between the cherry picker and the steel beams of a building he was working on at the CEW Recycling Group site on Merton Steet, St Helens, on November 8, 2019. He was found unresponsive at around 3.45pm by colleagues, who attempted to move the heavy machinery, which in turn refused to start. Ambulance and fire and rescue services attended, and Mr Senkans was pronounced dead at the scene at 6.11pm.
An inquest into his death today was told the cherry picker, which Mr Senkans had been operating, was found to have 15 serious defects, including three which could have caused or contributed to the fatal incident.
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Health and safety inspector Frances Ellis, who organised the examination of the 2006 Niftylift cherry picker, which was owned by Mr Senkans' employer, RM Gibbons LTD, said the "severe" faults meant the machinery was dangerous and should not have been operated.
She identified "three key issues that may have contributed" to the incident, including a lever used to operate the cherry picker which remained stuck in place after being moved instead of returning to a neutral position after pressure was removed. A foot switch also used to operate the machine was badly damaged, and a joystick was sticking in place.
She said: "It's the opinion of a thorough examiner that these defects should be within category A, which poses a danger to people and should be rectified prior to the machine going back in operation. I agree with the man who did this examination, that these defects are very severe, and they should have been rectified if the machine was going to be put into use."
Mr Senkans, who was born in Latvia, had been contracted to work on a new building at the recycling centre, and had received proper training for operating the cherry picker in September 2019.
The hearing was unable to determine exactly how he came to be trapped between the cherry picker and the building on November 8, as there were no witnesses to the incident.
The inquest continues.
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