Company fined £300,000 after worker fatally crushed by fork lift truck

Lincolnshire-based firm Vacu-Lug Traction Tyres has been fined after a worker died when the fork lift truck he was driving overturned at the company base in Grantham.

Lincoln Crown Court heard the worker was transporting tyres on 30 July 2014 when the fork lift ran over a loose tyre in the road. He was crushed between the fork lift truck and the ground and later died from his injuries. He was not wearing a seat belt.

An investigation by the Health and Safety Executive (HSE) found there was no company policy in place instructing workers to wear seatbelts when operating fork lift trucks. The investigation also found if the tyres had been stored securely this would have prevented them rolling onto the roadway and would have reduced the risk of the fork lift truck overturning.

Vacu-Lug Traction Tyres of Hill Foot, Grantham, Lincolnshire pleaded guilty to breaching section 2(1) of the Health and Safety at Work Act 1974 and has been fined £300,000 and ordered to pay costs of £25,000.

Speaking after the hearing HSE principal inspector David Butter said: “This tragic incident could have easily been prevented if the company had enforced and monitored the wearing of seat belts for fork lift truck drivers.”