Lift engineer crushed to death in factory horror – company hit with £200k fine
A young lift engineer was fatally crushed while fixing a goods lift at the Muller Yogurt and Desserts factory in Market Drayton. Now the firm responsible for the lift maintenance, Lift Monitoring Systems Limited, has been slapped with a £200,000 fine after a damning Health and Safety Executive (HSE) probe.
Tragic accident on January 14, 2020
Lewis McFarlin, just 24, was working alongside two colleagues trying to fix a door-opening fault on the lift. Suddenly, the lift jolted from inspection mode to normal use, trapping Lewis between the lift car and the shaft’s structure. He was fatally crushed before help could arrive.
Safety failings exposed
The HSE found the company failed to cover a dangerous void where Lewis became trapped — a clear breach of safety law that could have averted the tragedy. Lift Monitoring Systems Limited admitted breaching Section 2(1) of the Health and Safety at Work Act 1974 by neglecting basic precautions.
While Muller, the factory owner, escaped prosecution, the lift firm now faces the fallout from its negligence. Costs and further penalties are expected to be decided soon.
Family heartbreak and call for change
“No one should go to work and not come home,” said Lewis’s mother, Leah Salt. “This death was so easily preventable. I hope this outcome helps protect other lives and families from suffering like ours.”
HSE inspector Andrew Johnson added, “The risks of working on lifts and the safety steps needed were well-known. Sadly, the employer failed to put in place simple, well-established safety measures—a tragic oversight with fatal consequences.”
