Forklift injury highlights facilities management importance
January 8th 17:42 Health and Safety
A Gateshead construction firm has been fined after an employee was seriously injured when his forklift truck telehandler overturned.
Meldrum Construction Services was given a penalty of £4,500 and ordered to pay costs of £2,342.20 after being prosecuted at Tynedale Magistrates Court by the Health and Safety Executive (HSE).
The incident, which occurred in July 2008, resulted in Tom Lincoln suffering multiple fractures to his arm when the machine he was using fell onto its side.
Effective facilities management could have prevented the injury, as the court was told that Mr Lincoln had not been trained to use the vehicle and was not wearing a seatbelt at the time.
The HSE's John McGill noted that the risk assessment produced by the company "had failed to identify the dangers that workers would face".
It comes after Andre Mason, an employee of Joda Freight, was fined £1,500 last month for his role in an accident involving a forklift truck, which resulted in the death of a fellow employee.
