A hazardous waste treatment company has been fined after a worker was fatally crushed when a forklift truck he was driving overturned.
Manchester Magistrates Court heard how, on the 3 April 2017, an employee of Lanstar Ltd at Cadishead, Manchester, died as a result of the company failing to ensure its forklift trucks were operated in a safe manner.
An investigation by the Health and Safety Executive (HSE) revealed the company had failed to adequately take into account the risks of forklift trucks overturning at its Cadishead site and had failed to make sure seatbelts were being used by driver as required –notwithstanding it being company policy to do so. Both the risk of forklift trucks overturning and the use of seatbelts is to limit the risk of injury are common knowledge within the industry.
Lanstar Limited of Liverpool Road, Cadishead, Manchester, pleaded guilty to breaching Section 2 (1) of the Health and Safety at Work etc. Act 1974. The company was fined £126,000 and ordered to pay costs of £17,664.