A manufacturing company has been fined after an employee was found fatally injured under the forks of a side-loader lift truck.
A Magistrates Court heard that an employee was fatally injured at the company site during a lifting operation. The unsupported forks and carriage of a side-loader lift truck descended, crushing him whilst he was working underneath it.
An investigation by the Health and Safety Executive (HSE) found the company had failed to provide a safe system of work for unloading palletised goods using the side-loader forklift truck.
The owner of the company pleaded guilty to breaching Section 2(1) of the Health and Safety at Work etc Act 1974. The company was fined £18,000 and ordered to pay costs of £10,153.
Speaking after the hearing, an HSE Principal Inspector said: “This tragic incident could have easily been prevented if this employer had acted to identify and manage the risks involved and put a safe system of work in place.”
Source: Health and Safety Executive (HSE)