'It was a massive strain on us': Doncaster father-of-two left disabled following horrific incident

Wayne Hatton’s legs were crushed by an 800kg steel pallet that was being removed from a concrete cast, leading to the amputation of his lower right leg and two toes on his left foot.

His employer Amber Precast Ltd was fined £60,000 last week following a prosecution by the Health and Safety Executive (HSE), which found the company had not implemented a safe system of work to ensure the pallet could be removed safely. HSE guidance can be found at: Provide information, training and supervision: Overview – HSE

The 50-year-old, who was 46 at the time of the incident on 14 January 2021, later spent seven weeks in hospital and was bed bound for nine months after sustaining the injuries.

“I still get flashbacks about what happened,” Wayne said.

“Adapting mentally has been hard. Everyone always says you have handled it really well but they don’t see you on a day-to-day basis, just getting out of bed, putting your leg on and off and getting in and out of the shower and toilet.

“They just see me having a laugh and a joke about it, they don’t see everything else. I try and keep positive but dealing with it mentally has been hard.”

While the incident took a toll on Wayne’s mental and physical health, his relationship with his eldest son Jayden was also affected as he began to take care of his dad during his recovery.

Wayne, who lives in Doncaster, said: “He was only 17 at the time and it took a massive strain on him having to look after his dad.

“At the time it was a massive strain on us both. I was trying to deal with everything and he was trying to look after me.”

He added: “He did not realise what comes into running a house, washing, cleaning and everything else involved. And he was trying to have a social life as well, which he couldn’t do, so it was hard for both us, frustrating and we fell out a lot of times.”

As a result of his injuries, Wayne, who used to play golf and go to the gym prior to the incident, now wears a prosthetic leg and moved from his house to a bungalow which addresses his physical condition.

The biggest impact however came three months later in April 2021, with Wayne unable to be with his dad as he passed away.

Wayne went on to say: “The hardest part for me was my dad had only had six months to live and in the last three months, I only got to see him twice before he died. “

Concluding: That was harder for me than losing my leg. I didn’t get to say goodbye to him, which still hurts now.”