Hants firm fined after safety breach

A Hampshire haulage company has been fined more than £36,000 after an employee was seriously injured when he was struck by a forklift truck. Harris Transport of Totton admitted breaches of the health and safety regulations during a hearing at New Forest Magistrates' Court. The court heard that employee Lee McMahon had been working in the loading area when he was struck from behind by the forklift truck and suffered serious leg injuries.

A Health and Safety Executive investigation found that lighting was poor in the loading bay area, the risk to the employee had not been sufficiently assessed and that there had been a failure to ensure the employee's safety. In mitigation it was said that the company had only recently moved to the new site and that all the safety issues had now been addressed. The company was fined £28,000 and ordered to pay £8,900 costs.

When contacted by Motor Transport, management at Harris Transport declined to comment.