Claim news
14/04/2011

Employee's leg was broken in factory forklift accident

A lack of safety precautions in a Harwich food processing factory led to a forklift accident in which an employee's leg was broken.

Colchester magistrates were told that the work-related injury victim was working in a rice packing area where forklift trucks were moving pallets in a heavily-congested work area, which did not have separate routes for vehicles and pedestrians.

The driver of the truck, which was loaded with a full pallet of boxed rice flour, had only limited vision and he struck the workplace accident victim from behind, causing the packer and machine operator to suffer a right leg fracture and severe bruising to his left leg, including his knee.

The company was fined £9,000 for breaching health and safety laws and ordered to pay £3,124 in costs.

Now that liability for the industrial accident has been proved, the 49-year-old personal injury victim may wish to claim compensation from his employer for his suffering and possible loss of earnings.