A Devon business and its director have been sentenced after an employee suffered a serious brain injury during filming in a Paignton car park.
Motorsport marketing agency Superhub Ltd and its director James Foster, 55, of Paignton, appeared at Exeter Crown Court on Wednesday, October 14, having previously admitted offences arising from the incident.
The court heard that on May 14, 2021, the company was carrying out a review of an electric motorcycle which was not registered for road use.
Filming took place at Broadsands car park in Paignton, with a Superhub employee involved in capturing footage.
During part of the filming, the employee was sitting in the open rear of a Range Rover being driven by Foster.
As the vehicle accelerated away from the motorcycle, the employee was thrown from the vehicle and landed on the ground.
He suffered significant injuries, including a brain injury which has left him requiring lifelong care.
Risks should have been obvious
Judge David Evans said the risks should have been clear and found Foster had failed to ensure the safety of his passenger.
Superhub Ltd was fined £45,000 and ordered to pay £3,000 in costs.
Foster received a 16-month prison sentence suspended for two years, together with an 18-month supervision order and 180 hours of unpaid work.
His driving licence was endorsed with six penalty points and he was ordered to pay £2,500 in costs.
The company and Foster had pleaded guilty to causing serious injury by dangerous driving and two offences under health and safety legislation.
Incident described as entirely avoidable
DC John Greathead, from the Serious Collisions Investigation Team, worked with the Health and Safety Executive on the investigation.
He said the incident had been entirely avoidable.
“Car parks are intended for the movement and parking of vehicles and are not suitable locations for undertaking filming activities involving persons travelling in unsecured positions on vehicles,” he said.
“There were no adequate control measures in place to mitigate that risk, and safer alternatives for obtaining the required footage were available.”
He added that basic safety precautions could have prevented the incident.
