Company Fined Over 2007 incident

Workplace injury experts at Irwin Mitchell have once again called on companies to ensure they put measures in place to adequately manage transport risks, after a Hampshire firm was fined over the death of a lorry driver.

Adam Millichip, from Tenbury Wells, was delivering pallets of sheet steel to Wessex Lift Co Limited In Hampshire in 2007 when he parked the lorry at the side of the road for them to be offloaded by a forklift truck.

The forklift driver employed by the firm was moving one of the pallets, which weighed around a tonne, when it struck Mr Millichip and trapped him against the side of the lorry. He suffered major internal organ failure as a result of the crush injures and died shortly afterwards.

An investigation by the Health and Safety Executive revealed that inadequate controls were in place at the time of the incident to protect people from moving vehicles. Wessex Lift Co has been fined £65,000 and ordered to pay costs in relation to the incident.

Stephen Nye, a workplace injury specialist at Irwin Mitchell who acts for the families of those killed in accidents at work, said lessons must be learned from the incident.

He said: “Ensuring that both transport and people can move safely around work sites is a fundamental part of health and safety, and incidents of this kind demonstrate why such a focus is placed on this important issue.

“Traffic management measures need to be properly implemented and regularly assessed in workplaces to ensure that they provide the right level of protection and keep workers safe from any possible harm. Busy and noisy work environments must be managed to allow the safe circulation of pedestrians and work vehicles.

“The terrible consequences of failing to do this have been shown in this case and we hope that companies can learn from this kind of incident to prevent avoidable accidents like this from happening again.”

If you or a loved one has been injured in a forklift truck accident, our expert workplace accident claims team could help you to secure compensation. See our Forklift Truck Accident Claims page for more information.