Trailer owners urged to check safety alerts after student’s death

The Health and Safety Executive for Northern Ireland has asked owners and users of a particular trailer to be aware of safety alerts, following the inquest into the death a young Offaly rugby player in a farm accident.

Student Adam Mangan (19) died instantly from head injuries when he was struck by the tailgate of a HC 300 trailer on a farm at Derryarkin, Rhode, on October 3rd, 2015.

The inquest into his death in Tullamore on Monday heard he had gone to the Boland farm in Derryarkin to work for the day.

Thomas Boland jnr was moving gravel with a tractor and a 14-tonne trailer when Mr Mangan came to help him. Mr Boland had raised the trailer to tip a load and then noticed that the trailer was not going down properly.

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After he and Mr Mangan looked at it Mr Boland returned to the tractor cab. He then heard a bang and looked out and saw the deceased’s torso and legs at the back of the trailer. The tailgate, weighing 250kg, had come down on Mr Mangan’s head. A postmortem concluded the death had been caused by catastrophic injuries to the head resulting in extensive brain trauma.

The Health and Safety Authority and Armagh-based manufacturer NC Engineering both issued safety alerts in relation to the trailer earlier this month.

The warning from NC Engineering said: “On trailers manufactured prior to 2007 a door mechanism which is not freely moveable or damaged must be replaced before the trailer is used. On trailers manufactured from 2007 a retrofit kit must be fitted by an NC dealer.”

The Health and Safety Executive for Northern Ireland said it was “aware of this tragic incident and of the work undertaken by the Health and Safety Authority with the manufacturer.”

"We would ask all owners and users of this model of trailer to refer to the manufacturer's safety alert and relevant information which can be found at http://www.nc-engineering.com/nc-safety-alert/," it said.

NC Engineering said it would not be making a comment at this time.