Forklift truck runs over man's foot
19/04/2010
A worker who was run over by a forklift truck at an international metal-processing company still has difficulty walking more than a year and a half after the incident.
All Metal Services was hit with a £12,500 fine after a Health and Safety Executive investigation into an incident in which Derek Baxter, from Radcliffe was run over at the company's warehouse on the Wingates Industrial Park in Westhoughton on September 8 2008.
The 54-year old had been on his knees measuring empty pallets at the end of an aisle when a forklift truck ran over his right leg, trapping his foot.
The incident caused three broken toes, several fractured bones in his foot and extensive skin, muscle and tissue damage.
Manchester Crown Court heard that items of stock had been left in the aisle, narrowing the route for the truck, and that there was not a separate walkway for pedestrians.
HSE Principal Inspector Alex Farnhill said: "The company has an annual turnover of more than $180 million with bases in the UK, France and China. Any organisation that size can easily afford to spend time and money on basic health and safety."
AMS, which supplies raw materials to the aerospace and defence industries, pleaded guilty to breaching Regulation 17 of the Workplace (Health, Safety and Welfare) Regulations 1992 by failing to provide a separate walkway for pedestrians.
The company, which has its headquarters on Horton Industrial Estate in West Drayton, Greater London, was ordered to pay £4,230 towards the cost of the prosecution in addition to the fine at Manchester Crown Court on 16 April 2010.
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