Firm pleads guilty after untrained forklift driver causes amputation

The 35-year-old father-of-two had been working for Redditch-based BA Mobile Fleet Services Limited when the incident happened on 14 December 2023. 

He had been inside an HGV box trailer as it was being loaded with one-tonne concrete blocks – in preparation for a Driver and Vehicle Standards Agency (DVSA) break test.

It was during this process that the forklift truck ‘nudged’ a stack of blocks inside the trailer, causing them to topple on to the man’s legs.

He had to have his foot and part of his left leg amputated as a result of his injuries.

CCTV footage showing the HGV box trailer as it was being loaded with one-tonne concrete blocks. Photograph: HSE

HSE’s investigation found the driver of the forklift truck involved had no training and they had not authorised him to operate such vehicles. The regulator further found that the company failed to take appropriate precautions to segregate workers from moving vehicles on site.

Investigating HSE inspector Emma Page said: “The injuries sustained here by this young man have been truly life-changing.

“Too many people are injured or killed every year in workplace transport related incidents.”

BA Mobile Fleet Services Limited of Tanworth Lane, Redditch, pleaded guilty to breaching Section 2(1) of the Health and Safety at Work Act. The company was fined £30,000 at Kidderminster Magistrates Court on 15 April.

“Companies should do all they can to ensure all workers go home safely to their families at the end of each day. We will take action against those who fail to do so,” added Page.