Employee fined after apprentice fell from makeshift cage on forklift truck.

An employee has been fined £2,560 (inc.costs) after an apprentice sustained serious injuries when he fell from a potato box lifted by a forklift truck.

The circumstances were:

• The employer had carried out a risk assessment and purchased suitable equipment for work at height.
• On 30 July 2018, Mr Francis Yardy  chose not to use this.
• Instead, he attached a potato box to a forklift truck to lift an apprentice electrician to a height of four metres in order to carry out electrical repairs.
• The box was inherently unstable and the apprentice fell to the floor. 
• He was admitted to hospital and sustained a punctured lung and broken ribs.

The HSE inspector said:
“Unfortunately, forklift trucks are frequently used with potato boxes or pallets attached to lift people to work at height. This incident serves as a reminder of the potentially disastrous consequences.”