Lorry driver hit by forklift truck

LP Foreman & Sons or Chelmsford was fined £7621 (inc. costs) on 1st April after a worker was hit be a forklift truck.

The circumstances were:

• It was common practice for van drivers to instruct forklift truck operators where to place loads within their vehicles for ease of delivery. 
• There were no procedures for keeping pedestrians and forklift trucks apart.
• On 19th August 2013 a  driver stepped from the rear of his vehicle and was struck by a reversing forklift truck
• He suffered a fractured ankle and other

The HSE Inspector  said:

“This was an entirely preventable injury caused by LP Foreman & Sons’ failure to recognise the hazards arising from loading operations at their premises. Our investigation found that there was an absence of effective systems of control which were sufficiently robust to allow workplace transport and pedestrians to circulate the site in safety. It had become regular practice for delivery drivers to take up positions where forklift trucks were loading or unloading and this unsafe practice has led to a serious injury.”