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Dairy Farmers of Britain Limited was made to cough up £10,000 as fine and £2,916 towards costs after they pleaded guilty for breaching Regulation 12(1) and Regulation 17(1) of the Workplace (Health, Safety and Welfare) Regulations 1992, at Lincoln Magistrates’ Court.

The incident took place in June 2008, when an employee, John Reader, had a collision with a forklift truck when he was driving his ride-on pallet truck at the work site. He suffered multiple fractures on his lower right leg as a result and was taken to Lincoln County Hospital to be treated.

It was later determined during an inquiry, that the work place had not structured the traffic routes properly for pedestrians and vehicles to flow. The floor of the route was also not in a good condition as it had a lot of damage. The safety of the vehicles and commuters was also jeopardized as the ground was constantly wet and thus rendered slippery.

The accident could have been avoided if the bosses at Dairy Farmers had organized the area and made risk assessments relating to the safety and well being of its employees in the driving zone. There should have been well maintained and well designed specific areas for the employers and work vehicles to travel.

Scott Wynne, an HSE inspector also said that every workplace should refer to the HSE guidelines to know the necessary actions and precautions to be taken when pedestrians and fork lifts move about in such proximity. IOSH courses from Workplace Law Training are designed to give managers and supervisors all they need to know to help handle health and safety in their teams; click on IOSH Training for more info.