UK
Ireland
Scotland
London
A kitchen manufacturer has been prosecuted after a HGV driver was crushed to death by an overturned forklift truck.
Howden Joinery Ltd of Portman Square, London pleaded guilty to breaching Section 2(1) and 3(1) of the Health and Safety at Work Act 1974. It has been fined £1.2 million with £33,902 in costs.
Carlisle Crown Court heard how Richard Brown, an agency driver, was was delivering kitchen worktops to the company's site in Workington on 10 November 2014.
However, during the delivering he was fatally crushed when a forklift truck overturned while lifting kitchen worktops from the trailer of the HGV.
An investigation into the incident discovered the forklift had been overloaded and that visiting delivery drivers were not kept at a safe distance from the loading and unloading operations.
Speaking after the hearing, HSE inspector Steven Boyd said: "Standing too close to where loading or unloading work is being carried out can put people in harm's way so people, such as delivery drivers, should be in a position of safety when forklift trucks are operating.
"This tragic incident could have been avoided if Howden Joinery Ltd had implemented a safe procedure to ensure that pedestrians were kept at a safe distance during loading and unloading work."
(LM)
