High street chain Wilko has been fined £2.2 million after a worker was crushed under a metal cage of paint and left paralysed.
23-year-old Corisande Collins was pinned under the cage while working at a store in Leicester in 2013.
Wilko admitted failing to ensure the health and safety of its employees at Leicester Crown Court.
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Ms Collins, who was working at Wilko part-time while studying at university, was working at the firm’s Beaumont Shopping Centre branch when a cage she was pulling, overloaded with 230kg of paint, fell on her. She now uses a wheelchair.
The court heard that there was no risk assessment for the use of cages and there were unsafe health and safety practices in place.
In a statement Wilko said it was “truly sorry” and would not be appealing the ruling.
“The greater penalty for all of us is knowing that on this occasion we let one of our team members down,” the company said.
"We are truly sorry that this incident happened and for the impact it has had on Corisande, her family and those around them, which the judge today recognised they have faced as a family and with great fortitude."
