Two courts in the United Kingdom have handed down judgements over separate forklift accidents that left one worker dead and another seriously injured.
An inquest in Nottingham found forklift driver Anthony Watson contributed to his own death in July 2022.
In the second case, the Liverpool Magistrates’ Court fined a Blackpool clothing firm GBP40,000 (USD51,130) over a March 2022 forklift accident that left a man seriously injured.
Liverpool
In the Liverpool court, T. Print Limited of Blackpool, Lancashire, pleaded guilty to breaching Section 3(1) of the Health and Safety at Work Act 1974, according to a statement by the UK’s Health and Safety Executive (HSE).
As well as the fine, the court ordered the company to pay GBP4,696.95 (USD6,000) in costs.
The court heard 53-year-old delivery driver Andrew “John” Robinson suffered multiple leg fractures and a dislocated ankle after being hit by a forklift at T. Print’s Bristol Avenue site in Blackpool.
Robinson spent a month in hospital after the accident, required multiple follow-up operations and is still unable to work.
A HSE investigation found T. Print Limited had failed to ensure the safe segregation of delivery drivers from the unloading and loading activities, as Robinson was not instructed to stand or wait in a safe area during the unloading of his vehicle. The dangers should have been identified by a suitable and sufficient assessment of the risks.
HSE inspector Matthew Shepherd said: “All work settings that use forklift trucks to load or unload goods need to consider the risks arising from their use and implement adequate segregation controls to ensure the safety of pedestrians, such as delivery drivers, during these activities.”
This HSE prosecution was supported by HSE enforcement lawyer Krystal Savoie and HSE paralegal officer David Walker.
Nottingham
Meanwhile, the Nottingham Post reported an inquest found 50-year-old forklift driver Anthony Watson, known as Tony, contributed to his own death by not following safe systems of work.
The inquest at Nottingham's Council House heard Watson was driving an Adlet forklift in the warehouse of flooring distributors Cheshires of Nottingham on the day of the accident, in which he sustained head injuries.
He had placed a row of flooring onto a shelf, which would have meant extending the forklift mast, which then hit a beam and tipped over.
"It appears, as it toppled, Tony fell or jumped from the vehicle but, tragically, it ended up on top of him and he was killed," assistant coroner for Nottinghamshire Michael Wall told the jury.