Cl 5k fine after worker falls from forklift NORTH WALES
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haulier LE Jones has been fined £15,000 after an employee fell from a wooden pallet positioned on a forklift truck, which he was using as an improvised work platform to repair a trailer curtain.
In a Health and Safety Executive (HSE) prosecution, Llandudno Magistrates' Court was told how the worker, from St Asaph, who does not want to be named, was asked to repair the curtain at the firm's facility in Ruthin, Denbighshire, in February 2011.
To reach the tear, which was high up, he got on top of a pallet that was raised off the ground by the forklift. He then called for a colleague to lower him but the truck lurched backwards, causing him to fall off the pallet. The man fell two metres and suffered serious fractures to both heels.
An investigation by the HSE found that the work had not been properly planned and no suitable equipment had been provided by the business. The company had also failed to monitor and supervise the work of its staff in this instance.
LE Jones was found guilty of breaching the Work at Height Regulations 2005 and was also ordered to pay £4,041 in costs.
After the prosecution, HSE Inspector Dave Wynne said: "The firm could have provided a permanent gantry or a cherrypicker for routine repairs on its fleet. Work at height must be properly planned and organised by a competent person."
Summing up Improvised work plafforms are not acceptable in the modern workplace and the HSE will take action where ineffectual monitoring and supervision leads to any incident.