Warehouse operative crushed by a tonne of marble

Open-access content Tuesday 10th May 2016

From the archive: Just so you know, this article is more than 3 years old.

forklift_0

An employee of Extreme Handling, a supplier of forklift drivers and general warehouse operatives, was working at GMA Warehousing and Transport's site in Felixstowe, Suffolk, helping a forklift truck operator move a one-tonne sheet of marble from a container.

The marble fell on the Extreme Handling worker, who sustained extensive crush injuries to his legs, a fractured sternum and severe lacerations to the back of his head.

The Health and Safety Executive (HSE) investigated the 15 August 2014 incident and found an unsafe system of work was used to move the load.

At Ipswich Crown Court, GMA Warehousing and Transport pleaded guilty to breaching Section 3(1) of the Health and Safety and Work Act. It was fined and ordered to pay costs of £9,938.

Road sweeper was fatally crushed refuelling vehicle

Thursday 2nd June 2016

Derby Crown Court heard how on 26 November 2013 Matthew Lambert, 39, was standing at the back of the road sweeper to access the refuelling point when a tipper lorry reversed into him. He was crushed between the two vehicles and died from catastrophic head injuries. The Health and Safety Executive (HSE) found there were no marked or identified vehicle and pedestrian routes, there were no rules or control of reversing manoeuvres, and the lighting at the site was poor and below the required standard.

Open-access content

Travis Perkins fined £2 million after customer died in store car park

Tuesday 3rd May 2016

On 9 November 2012, Mark John Porter was loading timber onto the roof of his Land Rover at Travis Perkins’ Milton Keynes store, when one of the cargo straps holding the planks snapped and he fell.At the same time, a flatbed vehicle was manoeuvring into a space between Porter’s vehicle and another lorry that was parked in the branch’s loading area. Porter was run over by the lorry and died following crush injuries to his chest.

Open-access content

Truck driver ran over Royal Mail worker’s foot

Friday 20th May 2016

The accident happened at Royal Mail’s bundling centre in Rochester, Kent, on 7 March 2014, when a worker stepped out into an aisle and his foot was crushed by the truck. He was not wearing steel-capped safety boots and sustained broken bones. Pedestrians and vehicles operated in the warehouse without segregation. The Health and Safety Executive’s (HSE) investigation found that the workplace transport was not organised to ensure that both could circulate safely.

Open-access content

Co-op home delivery van ran over 88-year-old customer

Wednesday 27th April 2016

The accident occurred when Edward Harris was walking from the car park to the shop on 29 January last year. He passed through a gap in the railings, which was the only route between the car park and the store, and walked behind the parked van. The van reversed and struck Harris. He was knocked to the ground and fractured the top of his femur. He also developed several complications as a result of the accident, including pneumonia, an acute kidney injury and a probable artery blockage in his lung.

Open-access content

Vehicle body builder fined after workers pinned between vehicles

Tuesday 24th May 2016

On 12 January 2015 a Commercial Body Specialists worker was maneuvering the 18-tonne vehicle at the company’s workshop in Stoke-on-Trent. As he did so he struck two co-workers, pinning them between the moving lorry and two stationary vehicles. One worker sustained pelvis and rib fractures and internal bladder and kidney lacerations, while the other’s legs were crushed. A third employee managed to jump out of the way.

Open-access content

Speed control failure killed forklift driver

Tuesday 19th April 2016

An investigation by the Health and Safety Executive found that Severfield (UK) did not enforce seat belt use or control the speed at which some FLT operators drove their trucks.Teesside Crown Court heard that 27-year-old Kelvin McGibbon was not wearing a seatbelt when his truck overturned after hitting some steps on 13 March 2013. He died from crush injuries.The company pleaded guilty to a non-causative breach of regulation 5(1) of the Management of Health and Safety at Work Regulations 1999, and was fined £135,000, and ordered to pay costs of £46,020.

Open-access content

Topics

Safe systems of work

Workplace transport

Transport and logistics

News