A Perthshire-based company has been fined GBP27,000 (USD33,500) for health and safety failures after a worker lost part of a leg in a forklift accident.

John Brodie, 65, suffered the life-changing injury in 2019 at the premises owned by Broomhall Feeds near the village of Inchture. 

The company, which stores and sells animal feed, pleaded guilty at Perth Sheriff Court to a breach of the Health and Safety at Work etc. Act 1974. 

The court heard that on 11 April 2019, Brodie was paired up with a colleague to prepare packages and loads for deliveries in the company's warehouse. 

Brodie was in charge of the “board”, which holds information detailing which package to collect and its location, while his colleague worked the forklift. 

While this work was under way, the driver reversed the truck, unaware his co-worker was behind him. The truck ran over his colleague’s foot and pushed him into racking. 

Brodie was treated at the factory premises by ambulance and a helicopter trauma team. 

He suffered devastating injuries which resulted in amputation of his right leg below the knee on arrival at the hospital. 

Brodie, who recently settled a civil action for damages against his former employer, has been unable to work since the accident. 

The prosecutor said that, at the time of the accident, there appeared to be no formal traffic management system in place within the racking area and the forklift driver, who had only joined the company a few days prior to the incident, was not given proper forklift training. 

Since the accident, Broomhall has employed two external health and safety companies to improve its health and safety system.