CHARLES Watsford Lindsay Thomson has been fined $15,000 after a hired worker fell from a forklift and was injured.
According to WorkSafe WA, the incident occurred in September 2006. A labour hire worker and a company employee were picking furniture stock from racks at the Balcatta premises. The labour hire worker stood on a raised unsecured pallet while the other man operated the forklift.
The hired worker was approximately three metres above the concrete floor when the unsecured pallet moved and he fell to the floor, breaking his ankle and elbow.
WorkSafe WA says workers and employers should ensure safe systems of work are in place, especially where forklifts are involved. In this case, workcages could have been fitted to the fork arms.
The company has since introduced a safer work method, where stock is stored on pallets which are then raised and lowered by forklift, removing the hazardous practice of workers being elevated to pick stock.
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