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In November 2008 a forklift truck accident prompted the Health and Safety Executive (HSE) to issue a warning regarding the risks of falls from height when linked to misuse of forklifts in the work place.
In January of 2008, an accident occurred in Halifax UK, when an employee of a decorating products company fell over two metres from the raised forks of a forklift truck. The man had been emptying rubbish from a metal cage into a large skip. The job required him to stand on the forks of a forklift and be raised to a height where he could access the skip. On this particular occasion, the worker fell to the ground and the cage landed on top of him.
HSE inspector Geoff Fletcher said, "Work at height must always be properly planned, appropriately supervised and carried out in a safe manner. The company had allowed a practice to develop of employees standing on the raised forks of the forklift truck to transfer materials into skips, and had failed to consider the potential problems by carrying out a risk assessment."
The problem was rectified by the company reassessing their working practices and subsequently providing tipping skips, thus eliminating the necessity for employees to be working at height. The tipping skip is a forklift attachment that allows waste to be put into a small hopper that can be lifted safely by the forklift truck and the contents tipped into the larger skip.
In the Halifax accident the employee suffered two broken shoulders, but Mr Fletcher said, "The consequences could have been life-threatening."
The HSE state that falls from height are the most common cause of fatal workplace accidents and that prosecutions would be brought against employers who put people's lives at risk.
The company pleaded guilty to violations of the Health and Safety at Work Act 1974, were fined £10,000 and ordered to pay more than £2,000 costs.
Advice on risk assessments and safety procedure for working at height can be found at www.hse.gov.uk.
Forklift truck accident compensation
If you have sustained injury in a workplace accident that was not your fault, we can advise you very quickly if we believe you would be eligible to make a compensation claim. We will then provide you with an experienced and specialised personal injury solicitor who will guide you personally throughout your claim for compensation.
Working on a no win, no fee basis our professionals work to strict and exacting standards laid down by the Solicitors Regulation Authority. Our success rate is high and you are guaranteed to receive 100% compensation in the event of a successful claim.
Call our free UK helpline on 0800 10 757 95 or have an e-chat. If it's not convenient right now we can call you back, or you could give us a few details about your forklift truck accident by filling in our online claim form and we will call you to discuss it further. However you contact YouClaim you can be assured we will give you the best service available.
