Employee crushed to death

A Waste paper company was fined £16,000 after a court heard that one of its employees was crushed to death under a lift truck (shown opposite) because it failed to ensure that pedestrians and vehicles were properly segregated at its site. The court was told that a 51 year old lorry driver who was delivering waste paper to the company on 6th August 1999 parked his wagon inside the plant's warehouse and one of the firm's Directors began using the truck to unload the lorry. Whilst the lorry was being unloaded from one side the lorry driver walked around the vehicle to begin opening the remaining covers. The truck was carrying bales of paper which had been wrapped into six foot high stacks and although there were no witnesses it would appear that the deceased stepped in front of the truck and that the operator's vision was obscured by the load he was carrying.


The court also heard how the firm had failed to draw up a safe system of work for vehicle loading although that had now been corrected. In addition to the fine the company was ordered to pay the full prosecution costs of £767.84