The Health & Safety Executive (HSE) reported recently that a bakery had been fined £1.28m after one of its employees was crushed to death by a lorry.
The employee was fatally crushed after being struck by the vehicle as it reversed into a loading bay. The employee had been moving temporary strip curtains in the loading bay which had been installed due to a faulty roller door.
The HSE investigation found that no risk assessment had been undertaken concerning the use of the temporarily installed strip curtains and that there was no safe system of work to move them out of the way when lorries were reversing into the loading bay. The investigation further found that employees of the bakery had not been provided with training or instructions to move the curtains and therefore adopted their own methods, including standing in the yard behind reversing vehicles.
Statistics collated by the HSE indicate that workplace transport incidents involving pedestrians are a major cause of fatal injuries in the workplace. In 2023/2024 alone there were 25 such recorded fatalities.
Employers are required to plan their workplace in a way which reduces contact between pedestrians and vehicles and their risk assessments should consider all workplace transport activities including loading and unloading so that pedestrians are safe from risk of harm which inevitably arise with vehicles moving around within the employees’ workplace.
The need to carry out such risk assessments is an ongoing requirement. Reviews should be carried out on a regular basis, for example, to ensure that any changes in workplace activities or arrangements are accounted for, both prior to and after their implementation.
How can we help you?
Faqir Nawaz has been specialising in personal injury work for some 24 years and has a special interest in accidents at work. If you or a member of your family or someone that you know has been unfortunate enough to sustain injuries as a result of a workplace incident then please do get in touch as Faqir or another member of our expert legal team will be happy to advise you further. You can call us for free on 0800 044 8488 or fill in our contact form for us to give you a call back at a time convenient for you. All initial discussions are free of charge and completely confidential. Your employer will not be notified that you are seeking legal advice unless you decide to go ahead with making a claim.
