Forklifts And Training Prevents Work Accidents
According to the Health and Safety Executive (HSE), approximately 8,000 people suffer from forklift injuries through accidents at work every year. Recently, a warning had been issued by health and safety experts after a forklift truck broke a supervisor’s leg earlier last week.
The employee had been allowed to drive the truck without adequate training causing an accident where he reversed into his supervisor and broke his leg.
The firm, Line Mark Ltd had been prosecuted for breaching Health and Safety regulations. After the incident, the HSE had issued a safety warning for warehouses using forklift trucks. Safety Inspector, Chris Smith of HSE said: "This prosecution should serve as a warning to all companies to ensure forklift truck drivers are fully trained and have the relevant qualifications. While this was a serious injury, it could have been far worse." Forklift trucks resulting in deaths Being hit by a forklift truck is the most common cause of death in the workplace. The inspector added that "Forklift trucks are a potential danger to their operators and other people in the vicinity if not operated with great care. They should only be used by fully trained and qualified operatives.
Forklift trucks are particularly dangerous in the workplace and, by law, employers must give employees adequate training to ensure their health and safety. Where possible, employers should also tailor training to the worker's individual needs. On average, forklift trucks are involved in 24% of all workplace transport accidents. These are often due to poor supervision and a lack of training."
Last year, Michael Iain Johnson had lost his life to a forklift accident. After having had overcome cancer, Mr Johnson, 44 had suffered from serious head injuries when he leaned out of a forklift truck trapping himself between the vehicle and a hopper.
The HSE had issued a similar warning in 2005 after another man had died whilst assisting with an unloading operation.
The firm had been fined £10,000 for breaching the Health and Safety at Work regulations. In 2005, Health and Safety Executive inspector Richard Clarke said: "This was a tragic accident that could have been prevented had a safe system of work been in place. The container had a specialist mechanism for emptying it, but an improvised method was used when the incident happened.
Employers have a responsibility to ensure that the right equipment is used for the job and to ensure that loads are safely secured. That wasn’t the case in this incident, which sadly led to the loss of a man’s life."
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More resources regarding work accidents involving forklifts and employees not being trained to use equipment properly which results in personal injury or worse view Accidents Direct.
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