Company fined after forklift truck runs over worker
Jun 21, 2010
An international metal processing company was fined £12,500 after one of its workers was run over by a forklift truck.
The company was prosecuted by the Health and Safety Executive (HSE) following the incident at the company's warehouse. The employee was injured as he was kneeling down to measure empty pallets at the end of an aisle when a forklift truck ran over his right leg, trapping his foot.
The employee broke three toes, fractured several bones in his foot, and suffered extensive skin, muscle and tissue damage. He still has difficulty walking more than eighteen months after the incident.
The Crown Court heard that items of stock had been left in the aisle, narrowing the route for the truck, and that there was not a separate walkway for pedestrians.
The company pleaded guilty to breaching Regulation 17 of the Workplace (Health, Safety and Welfare) Regulations 1992 and was ordered to pay £4,230 towards the cost of the prosecution in addition to the fine.
Regulation 17 of the Workplace (Health, Safety and Welfare) Regulations 1992 states: "Every workplace shall be organised in such a way that pedestrians and vehicles can circulate in a safe manner." Measures should be taken to ensure vehicles and pedestrians are effectively separated in the workplace so they can both circulate in a safe manner.
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