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Driver crushed between load and vehicle during delivery operation using FLT
Wessex Lift Co Limited of Romsey, Hampshire has been prosecuted after a lorry driver was killed while delivering goods to its factory in 2007.
Adam Millichip, 27, was working for a Worcester-based haulage company and was delivering pallets of sheet steel. He parked the lorry at the side of the road to be offloaded by a forklift truck.
The forklift driver manoeuvred a pallet (weighed approximately 1 tonne) when it struck Mr Millichip across the chest and trapped him against the side of the lorry. He suffered major internal organ failure and died shortly afterwards.
HSE investigators found that inadequate controls were in place at the time of the incident to protect people from moving vehicles, and insufficient consideration had been given to the risks involved in offloading.
Case highlights the importance of proper planning
Wessex Lift Co Limited pleaded guilty to breaching Section 3(1) of the Health and Safety at Work etc Act 1974 at Winchester Crown Court and was fined £65,000 and ordered to pay costs of £60,000. The court heard that HSE had previously given advice to the company about effective management of workplace transport risks.
HSE Inspector David Bibby said:
“This tragic case highlights the importance of proper planning for deliveries, particularly around the risks of moving forklift trucks.
Had Wessex Lift Co Limited considered this, they would have identified safer methods for receiving deliveries, something which they implemented immediately after the incident.”