UK forklift accidents
Even to those who are not employed in the construction or factory industries, the image of a forklift truck dutifully carrying heavy loads around the workplace is a familiar one.
What many people may not be aware of, however, is the prevalence of forklift accidents in the UK. In fact, the forklift accident statistics make startling and disturbing reading.
Every year there are a hugely worrying 8000 forklift truck accidents in the UK. Many of these result in serious personal injury, while more than 10 of these (that is more than 1%) have a fatal outcome.
There are three main causes behind this disturbingly high incidence of forklift accidents and no matter whether they occur in a construction or factory setting the causes remain basically the same.
Here we shall examine the major causes of forklift truck accidents in some detail.
Forklift accident cause no.1 Poor upkeep of forklift
Certain components and operating parts of the forklift truck need regular maintenance in order to guard against forklift accidents. These include:
- Chains generally, these need to be checked every twelve months by a qualified inspector. If a truck is used over 40 hours per week, six month checks are in order. A check-up certificate must be made available in the event of a forklift accident.
- Fuel petrol powered forklifts should not be used where there is an incendiary atmosphere. Electric powered forklift trucks should have protection against electrical forklift accident hazards.
- Tyres must be kept at correct operational pressure.
- Overhead protector if the lifting height of the forklift is greater than 1.8metres, or falling objects are a reasonable risk, the forklift must be fitted with an overhead guard.
- Moving Components any moving parts that present a potential danger must have appropriate guards and safety devices.
- Attachments any forklift attachments that present a potential forklift accident hazard must be safely fastened.
Together with these specific checks there are general safety checks that need to be made in order to reduce the risk of a forklift truck accident.
The three general checks are the pre-operation check, periodic inspection and safety equipment check.
Forklift accident cause no. 2 Insufficient training/capacity of forklift drivers
There are several aspects to forklift training that need to be undertaken to reduce the risk of a forklift accident. Following basic training, forklift operators should undergo specific job training and a supervised period familiarising him/her with the individual workplace.
If a forklift operator is changing to a new truck he/she should receive conversion training. As well as this, training certificates should be kept as they could prove useful in any potential forklift accident compensation claim.
All training must be given in line with the Approved Code of Practice (ACoP) and drivers must have appropriate physical/mental/visual health for the operation of a forklift truck.
Forklift accident cause no.3 Hazardous working environment
All forklift truck working areas must be wide enough and have reasonable overhead clearance. They should also be well lit and have no road humps. Sometimes a one-way system is necessary. Pedestrians should not generally be allowed in the working area as they can present a forklift accident hazard.
Other safety measures that should be implemented to reduce the risk of work accidents in forklift environments include warning devices, specific parking zones, safety helmets and high visibility clothing.
These checks and measures apply to all forklift working environments whether they are construction, warehouse or factory based.
Making a work accident compensation claim
If you have been injured in an accident at work you may be entitled to make a personal injury compensation claim.
Making a claim with YouClaim is a simple process. We pride ourselves on being sensitive to the needs of all our clients and our panel of expert no win, no fee solicitors have an impressive success rate in dealing with work accident claims.
One advantage of dealing with YouClaim is that, win or lose, we will not charge you a penny for our services. If you win, you get to keep 100% of your compensation and even if your claim is not successful you will not have to pay any of the opposing sides costs as we are able to take out an insurance policy on your behalf which covers you in this eventuality.
So why not investigate your right to compensation by getting in touch with our friendly and highly-trained legal advisors today.
You can do this by requesting a callback at a time convenient to you, filling out one of our online claim forms, chatting online or calling us anytime on 0800 10 757 95.
We're the construction accident experts and can help you make a no win, no fee claim following a forklift truck accident.
