Prosecutions
Forklift driver provided false details and gave a banksman a broken back
30/10/2009
A young forklift driver, who falsified details of his training and experience, has received a £500 fine after a banksman suffered a broken back and ankle in an accident at a construction site in October 2007.
The 21 year old was using a telehandler at the building site to take part of a wooden house kit off a lorry when the three-tonne load fell, crushing the nearby banksman.
The HSE subsequently conducted an investigation which found that the young driver, who had only been employed at the site for a few weeks, had failed to deploy the telescopic forklift's stabilisers. He had also provided fraudulent evidence of his previous training and experience. On 23 October at Livingston Sheriff Court, he admitted breaching Section 7 of the Health and Safety at Work Act, which requires employees to take reasonable care of themselves and others, and to co-operate with employers in protecting people at work.
After the case, a HSE inspector described the young employee’s failure to use the stabilisers as a serious omission. He urged employers to check workers' qualifications and records carefully. "Companies should be alert to the possibility that documentation presented as evidence of training, experience and competence can be invalid if obtained on the basis of false or misleading information," he said.
The HSE subsequently conducted an investigation which found that the young driver, who had only been employed at the site for a few weeks, had failed to deploy the telescopic forklift's stabilisers. He had also provided fraudulent evidence of his previous training and experience. On 23 October at Livingston Sheriff Court, he admitted breaching Section 7 of the Health and Safety at Work Act, which requires employees to take reasonable care of themselves and others, and to co-operate with employers in protecting people at work.
After the case, a HSE inspector described the young employee’s failure to use the stabilisers as a serious omission. He urged employers to check workers' qualifications and records carefully. "Companies should be alert to the possibility that documentation presented as evidence of training, experience and competence can be invalid if obtained on the basis of false or misleading information," he said.