An international food production company has been prosecuted after a van driver for a recycling firm was knocked down by one of the company’s forklift trucks.
Preston Magistrates Court heard how a worker from a recycling firm was securing a load of metal drums at the company’s premises in Leyland, when he was knocked into and run over by a reversing forklift truck. The incident caused severe damage to the visiting driver; breaking several bones in his foot and causing severe muscle damage in his leg. He was unable to return to work until over a year later.
When the Health and Safety Executive investigated the incident they found that the company; Dr Oetker Ltd had failed to adequately identify risks and failed to communicate potential risks to visiting drivers. Speaking after the case HSE Inspector Rose Leese-Weller said: This was a wholly avoidable incident, caused by the failure of the host company to adequately communicate and implement safe systems of work to its employees and others.”
Ensuring that workplaces are safe places is a fundamental responsibility of any employer. While some places are by their very nature potentially more dangerous than others, it does not mean that so-called ‘safe’ places should be treated with any less attention than the apparently more dangerous ones; being hit by a vehicle in a mattress factory will cause no less damage than being hit by the same vehicle in a foundry. Ultimately the responsibility lies with the employer to ensure risks and dangers are thought through and suitable procedures are implemented.
If you or someone you care for has been injured at work you could be entitled to make a claim for compensation. Our solicitors have many years of experience in handling claims involving accidents at work. It does not matter if you were not employed by the company whose premises you were on when the accident happened; workplaces should be safe for visitors as well as employees and as the case above identifies, risks must be communicated to anyone on the premises, not just the employees. You can talk to us free of charge, with no obligation to continue with a claim if you chose not to. Contact us today and let us see how we can help you get the compensation you deserve.