Birmingham Magistrate's Court

A manufacturer has been fined GBP200,000 (USD249,000) after a worker was killed by a forklift.

Christine Workman was working at Minteq UK in Kings Norton, Birmingham, when she was hit by the truck in 2017.

She had been walking in the designated pedestrian area of the site's roadway at the time of the tragedy, Birmingham Magistrates' Court heard.

Birmingham Live reports that the company pleaded guilty to breaching Sections 2(1) and 3(1) of the Health and Safety at Work etc. Act 1974.

The report quotes HSE inspector Kay Brookes saying: "Far too many people are killed and seriously injured by vehicles in the workplace every year.

"Provisional data for 2018-19 shows that of the 147 workers fatally injured, 30 of them were as a result of being struck by a moving vehicle. Many hundreds are left with life-changing injuries.

"The requirement to ensure adequate separation and segregation between pedestrians and vehicles is paramount."