HGV driver 'crushed by tractor propped on wooden blocks' while attempting repair at South Lanarkshire farm

A HGV driver died at a South Lanarkshire farm after a tractor he was trying to fix fell on top of him and crushed him to death.

Jordan Little was working for Hodge Specialist Transport Ltd in April 2022 when he died at a farm near Abington.

The 25-year-old had been attempting to carry out a repair on a tractor from underneath the unit, which he had propped on blocks of wood.

The wood, however, was not sufficient to support the weight of the vehicle, and the tractor collapsed onto his torso while he was lying underneath it.

He was pronounced dead at the scene.

A fatal accident inquiry found that Mr Little had not been instructed by his employer to carry out the repair and that such repairs were normally conducted by a licensed garage or dealer.

It also found that there were no defects identified in the system of working which contributed to his death or the accident resulting in death.

Sheriff Siobhan Connelly, who led the inquiry at Lanark Sheriff Court, made no recommendations as she put the accident down to Jordan’s decision to attempt to repair the Volvo HGV.

In her summary, she said: “From the statements of the witnesses, it is clear that Mr Little was a well-liked and valued colleague and that he was keen to be busy.

“He had other tasks to do that day, which he could have safely completed without supervision, but it seems he decided that he would attempt the repair of the HGV in question.

“It can only be a matter of speculation, but from the evidence before me, I can only assume that he may have thought he was helping by doing the repair and also that he believed he was capable of doing the repair safely.

“It appears Mr Little approached the task in an unsafe way, which was not in accordance with the Volvo manual instructions.

“It appears that the decision to work underneath the vehicle while it was propped up on wooden blocks was ultimately Mr Little’s fatal mistake.

“It was inappropriate to use wooden blocks at all to support the vehicle, but it appears that the position and orientation of the blocks relative to the chassis of the vehicle may have made it more likely that the blocks would fail to support the weight of the tractor unit, as happened here.

“As the blocks failed, the vehicle descended and landed on Mr Little, fatally injuring him. Given the circumstances of the accident, I accepted the submission on behalf of HST that there was no reasonable precaution which could reasonably have been taken by Hodge Specialist Transport Ltd, which, had it been taken, might realistically have resulted in the death or the accident resulting in the death, being avoided.”

She concluded: “In concluding this determination, I wish to extend my sincere condolences in particular to Mr Little’s family and also to his friends and colleagues.”