We can help you claim
compensation following an accident
illness or injury - nationwide
Call: 0800 10 757 95
If an employee suffers personal injury in a forklift truck accident, due to the negligence of an employer to check the operational safety of the machine, a compensation claim for pain and any loss of earnings could be made.
The Provision and Use of Work Equipment Regulations 1998 and the Lifting Operations and Lifting Equipment Regulations 1998 state that the owner of a forklift vehicle must make sure it is safe through examination and inspection.
The regulations must be followed whether the owner is self-employed, or has paid staff.
To comply with the regulations, the Health and Safety Executive (HSE) states that an individual must have done two things:
This means that not only should the vehicle owner give the machine itself a safety check, but equipment and accessories used in the process of lifting the load at any point should be examined. Some items included in the HSE's list are cranes, stairlifts, slings and eyebolts.
It is important to perform regular safety checks, since even failure to properly maintain an item as simple as a hook could result in a load falling onto a worker or other passer-by. Depending on the weight of the load, an accident such as this may end in a work fatality which could easily have been prevented by the employer.
Due to the potential severity of any accident involving a forklift truck or implements used with it, the HSE states that a "competent person" should undertake the safety tests.
A "competent person", according to the HSE, must have "enough appropriate practical and theoretical knowledge and experience of lifting equipment so that they can detect defects or weaknesses, and assess how important they are in relation to the safety and continued use of the equipment".
A forklift truck, and all items used in conjunction with it, should be examined upon first use, before it is used at a new location after assembly, and every six to 12 months throughout the vehicle or item's service.
Making a forklift truck accident claim
If you have sustained personal injury at work due to your employer's negligence to have equipment and vehicle checks performed, in breach of the regulations, you may be able to make a 100% compensation claim with our help.
Our solicitors are experts in their respective fields and use plain English so that you can easily follow the legal process.
To see if you are eligible to make a claim, simply contact us about your forklift truck accident on 0800 10 757 95 or request a call back from our helpful staff.
