Employee Found Fatally Injured by Side Loading Forklift Truck
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A manufacturing company, Cutting Edge Trading Ltd, has been fined after their employee, Mitchell Poutney, was fatally injured when a forklift truck crushed him.
An HSE investigation into the fatal injury caused by workplace machinery found that the forks which crushed Poutney were unsupported. They also observed that there was no safe working system in place for unloading pallets from the side-loader forklift truck. Meaning, other employees could potentially suffer from similar accidents at work. As Poutney had been working underneath when the loaded goods caused the forklift truck’s carriage to rapidly descended, the heavy load combine with the force fatally injured him.
The employer, Cutting Edge in the West Midlands, pleaded guilty of the workplace accident. They were fined £18,000 and made to pay costs in excess of £10,000. Jenny Skeldon, HSE Principal Inspector, said:
“This tragic incident could have easily been prevented if this employer had acted to identify and manage the risks involved and put a safe system of work in place.”
Have You Been Injured at Work by a Forklift Truck or Other Machinery?
Your workplace has failed in their duty of care to you if you have been injured on the job. If you have been injured – or a loved one fatally injured – at work, you stand to received personal injury compensation.
Forklift trucks are dangerous moving vehicles to be around, and their mechanisms are no different. Employers need to ensure you have a safe working environment, especially around heavy-duty equipment, to protect your health. Without enforcement actions from HSE and claims filled by injured employees, businesses wouldn’t make your safety a priority, despite a legal obligation to do so. That’s why it’s critical that companies are held as responsible for accidents.
Contact us for no-obligation, free claim assessments. Plus, make your claim on a no win, no fee* basis to get your damages without worrying about up-front costs. Call on 08082391859^ to speak to our legal team today.
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