£124,000 Fine for Tyre Fitter’s Death

The managing director of a Lanarkshire tyre firm was the recipient of fines totalling £124,000 after a ruling on March 14 decreed he was at blame for the death of a teenage employee. Donald Kelly, a 19-year old trainee tyre fitter, died when a giant JCB tyre he was inflating exploded in his face. Mr. Kelly was rushed to hospital following the incident on May 13, 2005, but was pronounced dead shortly after arrival.

John Wallace, 64, managing director of Auchinlea Tyres, based in Cleland, Lanarkshire, appeared before Hamilton Sheriff Court where he admitted to charges that his negligence led to the teenager’s death. The court found that Mr. Wallace breached health and safety rules by allowing Mr. Kelly to inflate tyres using an air line that was not fitted with a pressure gauge or a control trigger. Mr Wallace was also accused of failing to provide a safety cage for the inflation of large tyres.

Hamilton Sheriff Court was told that Mr. Kelly had been asked to repair a punctured tyre from a JCB digger on the day he died. Jim Leck, for the prosecution, informed the court the tyre should have been inflated in a metal cage to prevent accidents. “On the morning of the incident, Donald Kelly removed the tyre and placed it against a stack of truck tyres,” said Mr. Leck. “He began inflating the tyre without any safety device. There were other employees there at the time. In the course of the tyre being inflated, there was a loud explosion.

“Witnesses saw Donald Kelly lying on the opposite side of the tyre bay. It was obvious to his colleagues that he had been severely injured. Paramedics attended initially and then an ambulance crew.” A post-mortem examination carried out on Mr. Kelly two days after his death revealed he had suffered massive internal injuries to the chest area.

Health and safety experts were called in to examine the accident site and found that the tyre Mr. Kelly was working on had been inflated to almost four times its normal operating pressure. Readings showed the inflated pressure to be between 125lb to 150lb per square inch (PSI). The normal pressure for such a tyre is 36 PSI, the court was told.

Upon sentencing Mr. Wallace, Sheriff Thomas Welsh said “You knew of the practice that was allowed to continue. The company exposed their employee to an unnecessary and avoidable risk and you are the principal beneficiary of the company.” Auchinlea Tyres was fined £100,000 and Mr Wallace personally received a fine of £24,000.

Mr. Wallace’s defence lawyer, Gillian Ruchberry, informed the court that following the accident Auchinlea Tyres have implemented changes to their operating practices and also installed a safety cage.