A 43-year-old man was working at Streamline Shipping Agencies Limited’s premises at Palmerston Quay, Aberdeen, when he was struck by a reversing forklift truck driven by a colleague on 26th September 2024. The worker was on foot, unclipping the curtain side of an articulated trailer, when the rear nearside wheel of the forklift made contact with his right leg, pulling him to the ground.
The worker suffered multiple fractures to his right foot and lower leg, as well as a de-gloving injury, undergoing two surgical procedures and skin grafts. He has also required counselling because of the incident and has yet to return to work.
An investigation by the HSE found that Streamline Shipping Agencies Limited failed to ensure its workplace was organised in such a way that pedestrians and vehicles could circulate safely. While the company had a traffic management plan in place, it lacked the necessary detail to ensure that loading and unloading – which routinely took place concurrently in the same area – could be carried out safely without putting employees on foot at risk from moving vehicles.
HSE concluded it was reasonably foreseeable that an employee on foot faced a risk of being struck by a moving vehicle when both the pedestrian and driver were concentrating on their respective tasks near each other.
Following the investigation, an Improvement Notice was served on the company. In response, Streamline made a series of improvements to its traffic management arrangements to the satisfaction of HSE. By law, employers must ensure traffic routes can be used without putting workers at risk.
Streamline Shipping Agencies Limited, of Aberdeen, pleaded guilty to breaching Regulation 17(1) of the Workplace (Health, Safety and Welfare) Regulations 1992 and Section 33(1)(c) of the Health and Safety at Work etc. Act 1974. The company was fined £146,700 and ordered to pay a Victim Surcharge of £11,000.
HSE Inspector Nicky Smith said, “This was a serious and wholly avoidable incident that has had a profound and lasting impact on this worker’s life. Employers have a legal duty to ensure that pedestrians and vehicles can move safely within their workplaces, particularly in busy areas where loading and unloading takes place. Having a traffic management plan is not enough if it does not contain the detail needed to protect workers on the ground. We will not hesitate to hold companies to account when they fall short of their obligations.”
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