The horrifying incident happened when the 14-year-old boy was with an adult waiting for an MOT to take place at New Auto Tech Limited, in Alroy Road, Finsbury Park, on May 4, 2022.
The teenager was sitting on a chair in an operational area in front of the brake rollers, not a “designated” viewing box.
As the MOT technician attempted to move the car in reverse, the vehicle was driven forwards off the brake rollers, crushing the boy against the wall.
The teenager required immediate hospital treatment, having sustained multiple pelvis fractures.
He was bedbound for three months and off school for more than a year.
An investigation by the Health and Safety Executive (HSE) found that New Auto Tech Limited had failed to ensure that members of the public were in a safe area when vehicles were being moved.
The MOT Centre’s designated ‘viewing area’ to the side of the brake roller bay was a painted box on the floor with a chair placed inside it.
However there were no protective barriers and the business failed to stop customers from moving out of this area into parts of the workshop where vehicles were moving.
New Auto Tech Limited pleaded guilty to breaching the Health and Safety at Work Act 1974 for its failure to ensure the health, safety, and welfare of those not in its employment.
The company was fined £10,000 and ordered to pay costs of £6,810 following a hearing at Westminster Magistrates Court on January 10.
After the hearing, HSE inspector Michelle Morphy said: “This case sends a clear message to MOT Test Centres that HSE will hold them to account if they fail to protect both workers and members of the public.
“On this occasion, they failed to protect a child, by allowing them to move from their allotted viewing area into an operational area, which should have been restricted to workers only.
“As such the child was seriously injured in a totally avoidable incident.”
