A furniture business was fined AUD15,000 following an incident in which a worker fell from a forklift.

A furniture business was fined AUD15,000 in the Perth Magistrates Court last Friday following an incident at its Balcatta premises which resulted in a worker falling from the raised tyne of a forklift.

The incident occurred in September 2006 when a labour hire worker and a Ford Thomson employee were picking furniture stock from racks at the company's premises. The labour hire worker was standing on a raised unsecured pallet while the employee operated the forklift.

The worker was approximately three metres above the concrete floor when the unsecured pallet moved and he fell to the floor, breaking his ankle and elbow.

According to WorkSafe WA Commissioner Nina Lyhne, the case should serve as a reminder to ensure that safe systems of work are in place, especially where forklifts are in use.

"In this case, standing on an unsecured pallet on the fork arm was the usual method used for picking stock in this particular workplace.

"Since this incident, a far safer system of work has been introduced whereby stock is stored on pallets which are then raised and lowered by forklift, removing the hazardous practice of workers being elevated to pick stock.

"The employer could also have either fitted purpose-built workcages to the fork arms or used order-picking lift trucks that are specifically designed for this situation.

"The court case revealed that the employer was aware of the unsafe system of work being used and failed to take any steps to prohibit it."