Forklift accidents
Forklift accidents. The causes, results and prosecutions. Up to October 2013
There are about 8000 reportable forklift accidents every year in the United Kingdom. That's 22 every single day of the year! About 12 of these are fatal and it's fair to say that the number of fatal accidents has dropped over the years.
Some of the more recent forklift accidents that have come to my attention are listed below and I will update these on an ongoing basis. The fines seem to be getting larger!
(I have deliberately removed the names of people and companies involved in these accidents to avoid further upset to those concerned)
Videos of forklift truck accidents/incidents More.
29th Oct. 2013 A Croydon company that builds truck bodies has been prosecuted after a worker’s leg was crushed by a pack of six-metre steel sheets weighing almost 4 tonnes when it slid and fell during unloading. More
Oct 14th 2013. A Bilston shot blasting firm has been fined after a heavy vehicle chassis crushed a worker's leg when it slipped from a forklift truck during a flawed lifting operation. More
1st Oct 2013. A Leicestershire building company has been fined after two workers fell four metres from an insecure platform balanced on the raised forks of a telehandler. More
30 Sept 2013. A Runcorn-based boat manufacturer has been fined after an employee's head was crushed against the top of a lorry container. More.
Sept 4th 2013. An east London firm has been fined £125,000 after being found guilty of safety failings that led to the death of a worker who was crushed by a falling metal mast at its site in Cambridgeshire. More
Aug 28th 2013. A Preston worker could have been killed when a 400kg bale struck him as it toppled from a forklift truck, a court has heard. More
15 August 2013. A Suffolk-based freight company has been sentenced for a series of safety breaches after a forklift truck toppled and spilled its load onto a worker, breaking his back. More
17 June 2013. A haulage company has been fined after an employee sustained injuries falling from a wooden pallet carried on a fork lift truck. More
May 17th 2013. A Bradford man may need to have his foot and lower leg amputated as a result of a crush injury caused by the safety failures of his employers more than a year ago. More.
May 5th 2013. A Gloucester electrical products manufacturer has been fined for breaking safety legislation after an employee was injured in a fall at work. More.
26th April 2013. A West Yorkshire company has been prosecuted for breaching safely law after a 1.5 tonne pallet toppled on to a teenage worker, trapping him by the legs. More
April 22nd 2013. An Essex construction company has been fined for putting workers at risk after neglecting to check and maintain a potentially dangerous forklift truck. More.
April 9th 2013. A London-based chemicals company has been prosecuted after a worker was run over by a forklift truck and had to have part of his leg amputated. More.
Feb 13th 2013. Not exactly a forklift accident this time but very close. A Corby paper manufacturer has been fined for safety failings after a worker was killed when racking collapsed and heavy boxes landed on top of her. Details
11th Feb 2013. A West Yorkshire textile firm has been ordered to pay more than £115,000 in fines and costs for safety breaches that led to a worker being crushed and killed by a falling stack of rag bales. Details
6th Feb 2013. A metal manufacturer in Manchester has been sentenced after an employee was killed when a machine weighing half-a-tonne fell from a forklift truck. Details
Jan 17th 2013. An inquest has heard that a ”prehistoric” fork lift truck with ”no effective brakes”, which overturned and fatally injured a company director, was "clearly out of use and in total disrepair" Details
Jan 9th 2013. A Wakefield company has been fined for failing to keep a forklift truck in good working order, which posed a danger to workers. Details
Dec 12th 2012. Two North East firms have been fined after a worker suffered serious head injuries when the fork of a forklift truck struck him on the forehead. More
Dec 5th 2012. A bottling firm in Chorley has appeared in court after one of its employees was injured while being lifted on the forks of a forklift truck. More
3rd Dec 2012. An employee suffered leg injuries when a reversing forklift truck struck him while working at a cardboard factory. More
1st Dec 2012 A Shropshire concrete firm has been prosecuted after a worker suffered serious leg injuries when he was hit by a forklift truck. More
14 Nov 2012. A Mitcham rubbish clearance and skip company has been fined for ignoring safety warnings, leaving staff working on a site in Croydon at risk. More
Oct 10th 2012. A recycling firm, which ignored warnings about safety at its plant in Warrington, has been sentenced after a worker was struck by a forklift truck. More
Sept 4th 2012. A Skelmersdale firm which makes outdoor shelters has appeared in court after an employee lost parts of three fingers when his hand became trapped in this forklift truck. More
June 15th 2012. A Derbyshire manufacturing firm and its director have been fined after two teenage agency workers fell from a lifting platform. More
June 6th 2012. A forklift truck driver could have been seriously injured or even killed when the vehicle he was operating overturned at a warehouse in Hemel Hempstead, a court has been told. More
June 8th 2012. An Essex businessman was crushed to death by a container in an horrific workplace incident. More
May 3rd 2012. A Yeovil construction company has been fined after a subcontracted worker suffered serious injuries when he was struck by a fork lift truck. More
May 2nd 2012. A North Devon farming business has been prosecuted for safety failings after a worker fractured his skull falling from the prong of a forklift truck at an animal feed mill. More
May 2nd 2012. A Preston steel firm has appeared in court after a working platform slid off the forks of a forklift truck and struck one of its employees. More
A large Shipbuilding company based in Mersyside has been fined after a breach in health and safety laws led to the death of a worker. April 2012 More
A Leicester food company which allowed a fork lift truck to be used as a man lift has been handed a hefty fine. March 2012 More
Feb 27th 2012. The family of a man killed instantly when a heavy load from a forklift struck him on the head have demanded new rules for operating factory equipment in the hope it will prevent further tragedies in the future. More
Feb 2012. A 60-year-old man has died after being hit by a fork lift truck at a Jewsons factory in Beaumont Road, Banbury, Oxfordshire. More
Jan 27th 2012. A Hampshire lift manufacturer has been fined £65,000 after a delivery driver was crushed to death against his own lorry by a fork lift truck. More
Two companies have been fined a total of £100,000 following the death of a maintenance worker who fell from the forks of a forklift truck at a Macclesfield factory. Dec 2011 More
Female rugby player crushed to death by forklift truck in freak warehouse accident. Dec 2011 More
Nov 7th 2011. A waste worker suffered life threatening injuries after being hit by a fork lift truck, a court has heard. More
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