Man Dies in Forklift Accident, Company Fined for Negligence
Wednesday, September 30th, 2009Trackline (International) Ltd was fined of £7,500 and was asked to pay £6,690 at Lincoln Crown Court after one of its workers was crushed to death by a forklift truck.
Shaun Porter, aged 31, was at the construction site where all the earth-moving equipment was put together. He was shifting a steel assembly to another location at the site, but a big vehicle frame blocked the gangway. Therefore, he raised his forks in order to make some room for his truck to go ahead.
However, his colleagues saw that he was about to smash into the frame and so they shouted at him to stop. He did apply the brakes but the truck twirled around and overturned. Porter tried to make a quick escape but was caught underneath the vehicle and was crushed to death on the spot.
The construction company was found to be guilty of violating Section 2 (1) of the Health and Safety at Work Act 1974, as it was unsuccessful in providing a protected work environment and in making proper arrangements for the functioning of forklift trucks.
The post mortem of the body uncovered that Porter had died because his internal organs were completely squashed by the impact of the truck. The HSE in its investigation found that the access routes and walkways in the site were not appropriately marked for the benefit of the workers and that there was also no clear method devised by the company to weigh the loads used in the construction process. It was also discovered that employees used to drive their trucks on unauthorized routes.
Every workplace should refer to the HSE guidelines to know the necessary actions and precautions to be taken when pedestrians and fork lifts move about in such proximity. Workplace Law is a major provider of accredited health and safety training, with well established study programmes for IOSH and NEBOSH courses. They provide hundreds of organisations throughout the country with consultancy and support to meet the specific needs within their own workplace – click on IOSH Health and Safety for training to assist in the development and implementation of safety systems within your own workplace environment.