Fine sends a warning

Administration worker Lisa Ramos lost her leg in a forklift accident two years ago when she was walking through the factory carrying paperwork at NYK Logistics' Derby premises.

This week, the company was fined GBP20,000 (USD37,000) by the Derby Crown Court. It was also ordered to pay GBP5,941 (USD11016) costs after it admitted contravening health and safety at work regulations.

Ramos was struck by a reversing forklift truck and the accident was so severe her left leg had to be amputated below the knee. She says she is on 23 tablets a day to get by and expects to undergo two more operations.

The Health and Safety Executive (HSE) warned employers they must have systems in place to ensure pedestrians and vehicles can move safely in the workplace.

Andrew Turner, the Health and Safety Executive's principal inspector for Derbyshire, claims the company's risk assessment had identified the hazard but it had not enforced its health and safety policies.

"Although the company had identified that pedestrians were at risk from moving vehicles and (had) taken some steps to try to minimise this risk, it had become commonplace for pedestrians to walk through areas where forklift trucks maneouvered and reversed," he says.

"Ms Ramos could have been killed as a result of this incident and has suffered a very serious injury, but it could have been avoided if NYK had taken a few simple measures."