Farm firm fined after forklift accident

A farming company has been fined following an accident in which a worker was struck by a forklift truck.

45-year-old agency worker Algis Jevsejevas was walking across a shed floor when he was hit by a reversing vehicle, fracturing his left leg.

CW Dobbs and Son's was fined £7,000 and costs of £2,588 after pleading guilty to breaches of the Workplace (Health, Safety and Welfare) Regulations 1992.

Neil Ward, an inspector with the Health and Safety Executive, said that the incident was avoidable and could have been dealt with through simple measures.

He said: "The company should have made sure, so far as was reasonably practicable, that there was physical segregation between its workers and its vehicles."

Mr Ward added that after the accident the farmer rearranged the shed so that people do not need to walk across it, showing that it can be both simple and cheap to improve safety.

Earlier this month, farming firm R Todd & Company was fined £20,000 over an incident in which a worker suffered the loss of two toes from their right food.

Published by Tessa Jones