Safety failings after man injured falling from forklift

A farming business has been fined after a worker fractured his skull after falling from the prong of a forklift truck.

Richard Robinson was working at the premises of his employer, WJ Watkins and Sons Ltd, of north Devon, when the accident occurred in August last year. He was in the truck, attempting to crush recycled material and Barnstaple Magistrates Court heard that workers had devised their own method which involved being lifted by the truck, climbing into the bags of material that were suspended in the air and trampling it down before landing again on the forklifts. However, on this occasion Mr Robinson fell from the fork, about one and a half metres to the concrete ground below, causing him to fracture his skull.

The court heard that the company had not provided an alternative, safer method of crushing the material and pleaded guilty to allowing dangerous working practices. It was fined £6,000 and ordered to pay £1,226 in costs. The HSE, speaking after the hearing, stressed that working at height must be properly planned and supervised and a safe system of work should be in place to prevent accidents of this type occurring.