A North Yorkshire-based steel fabrication company has been fined after a forklift truck (FLT) operator was killed when his truck overturned while he was operating it.

Severfield (UK) Limited, of Severs House, Dalton Airfield Industrial Estate, Dalton, Thirsk, North Yorkshire, pleaded guilty to a non-causative breach of Regulation 5(1) of the Management of Health and Safety at Work Regulations 1999.

It was fined £135,000 with over £46,000 costs.

However, the offence Severfield pleaded guilty to was not a significant cause of the fatal accident.

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Teesside Crown Court heard how Kelvin McGibbon, 27, was reversing the forklift truck when it struck some steps and overturned on 13 March 2013.

Mr McGibbon was not wearing a seatbelt and suffered crush injuries which proved fatal.

A Health and Safety Executive (HSE) investigation found Severfield (UK) failed to manage forklift truck driving operations.

They did not enforce the wearing of seat-belts or control the speed at which some FLT operators drove their trucks.

HSE inspector David Welsh said: "A company has a legal duty for the health and safety of people working on its site, whether they are employees or not. They are required to assess risks, eliminate them where possible and enforce proper control measures, such as seat belt wear, by checking that safe driving practices are being followed to deal with the risks that remain.

"Sadly, in this case, the prosecution shows that the company’s management of FLT driving operations and risk control measures failed which exposed employees to danger."

(LM)