The incident happened at the firm's warehouse in Appleton ThornUK road freight logistics company William Stobart & Son has been fined GBP160,000 (USD207,084) after an employee required amputations to both legs below the knee, as result of a forklift accident.
The accident happened at the company’s warehouse near Warrington in June 2022, with the fine handed down following a Health and Safety Executive (HSE) investigation into the accident.
The man was working in close proximity to a forklift which was being used to load pallets of slate tiles onto a waiting truck, HSE explains.
“The (forklift) was carrying two pallets, one on top of the other. The top pallet was not secured to the one below, and when the driver turned the vehicle, both pallets became detached from the forks, with the upper pallet striking (the victim), crushing his legs.”
HSE found the company “failed to ensure this area of the warehouse was organised so that vehicles and pedestrians were segregated and circulated in a safe manner and loads were secured so far as was reasonably practicable”.
The company submitted a guilty plea to breaching regulation 2(1) of the Health and Safety at Work etc. Act 1974. In addition to the GBP160,000 fine, it was ordered to pay GBP4,478 (USD5,800) costs at a hearing at Warrington Magistrates Court on 30 July 2024.