Firm fined over forklift accidentA Gateshead building firm has been ordered to pay £4,500 after an incident in July 2008 in which a worker was seriously injured when a forklift truck he was operating overturned.
Tom Lincoln, 39, of Dudley, Northumberland, was left with multiple fractures to his right arm after the vehicle he was using to lift roof trusses onto the roof of a development overturned, throwing him against the cab window and control panel.
Meldrum Construction Service Ltd pleaded guilty to breaching section 2(1) of the Health and Safety at Work etc Act 1974 at Tynedale Magistrates' Court after it emerged that Mr Lincoln was not trained to use the vehicle and had not been wearing a seatbelt at the time of the incident at the site at Sandhoe, Northumberland.
Mr Lincoln still requires medical treatment for his injuries and is unable to return to his job.
The company, which is based at Durham Road, Birtley was fined £4,500 and ordered to pay costs of £2,342.20 and a victim surcharge of £15.
HSE Construction Inspector John McGill, said: "Meldrum Construction Services Ltd failed to ensure that Mr Lincoln had the necessary training to use the machine and had not reviewed its processes to ensure that unauthorised personnel did not have access to specialist machinery on site."
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