Massive fine for operating faulty forklift truck and falsifying records

MIB United Meat Ltd., a North London meat wholesalers has been fined £20,314 for operating a fault-ridden forklift truck and trying to deceive safety inspectors by forging a positive examination report on the vehicle.

The circumstances were:

• The HSE paid a routine health and safety inspection on 8 March 2013.
• During the visit, an HSE inspector asked to see the vehicle examination records for the company’s 2.5-tonne counterbalance forklift truck
• A document was later emailed to the inspector but appeared to be – and was later proven to be – a fraud.
• HSE found the forklift truck had never been examined. 
• A specialist mechanical inspector from HSE, who examined the forklift in April 2013, found more than 40 faults, including some that could have endangered its operator.

The HSE Inspector said:

“MIB United Meat Ltd was required by law to make sure its forklift truck was maintained regularly and properly examined to allow the identification of safety-critical defects. It failed to do this and the vehicle was allowed to deteriorate to the point of being riddled with faults. It compounded this failure with a blatant attempt to deceive HSE by forging documentation purporting to be an examination record. This is a serious offence and demonstrates that the company was willing to expose its employees to the risk of serious injury or even death.”