A VICTORIAN company has been convicted and fined $60,000 after a forklift driven by a 22-year-old worker tipped over, crushing the driver’s foot which was later amputated.
According to WorkSafe Victoria, the worker was not licensed to drive a forklift, nor was he wearing a seatbelt when the forklift tipped in December 2008.
The worker is said to have begun driving forklifts less than a month after beginning work with Elliott Engineering. After a few months, he was driving a forklift every second day, despite not holding a license.
Elliot Engineering pleaded guilty to failing to provide and maintain safe plant and systems of work.
The incident occurred when the worker tried to make a right turn on an uneven and inclined gravel area.
As the machine tipped, the operator went to jump out the left side but the forklift landed on his feet and trapped him.
When investigating the incident, WorkSafe found Elliot Engineering did not have systems to ensure forklift drivers held licences, were trained or wore seatbelts.
In addition, drivers had not been trained on the Linde forklifts, which had a different foot pedal set-up to other forklifts used at that workplace.
Since the incident, Elliot Engineering has responded to WorkSafe improvement notices by implementing a register of employees who hold a forklift licence and a system which disables forklifts’ engines until the operator has fastened the seatbelt.
WorkSafe's publication 'Forklift safety: Reducing the risk' is available online along with other useful safety information at www.worksafe.vic.gov.au or call WorkSafe’s Advisory Service on 1800 136 089.
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