Company loses appeal against health and safety conviction

A Southampton company has lost its appeal against a fine and conviction imposed after one of its employees was left permanently disabled following an incident in the workplace.

The city's crown court handed Harris Transport a fine of £28,000 in January after a member of staff was run over by a forklift truck, suffering severe injuries to both legs.

An investigation by the Health and Safety Executive found a systematic breakdown in the firm's health and safety management had occured, including insufficient lighting and poor maintenance of the trucks.

In addition drivers were found to have received no training on how to operate the vehicles in a safe manner.

Ray Kelly, the HSE's prosecuting inspector, said Mr McMahon is unlikely to work again and expressed his disappointment in the company's decision to appeal against its fine.

"This case illustrates how easily normal work places can become incident scenes when health and safety management systems breakdown. The HSE were very disappointed that Harris Transport felt the need to challenge the original penalty," he stated.

Employers are required by law to take out insurance cover against accidents at work to include those arising from the use of equipment such as forklift trucks, according to Carrs Solicitors.