Serious forklift injury leads to $40,000 court fund order

The company pleaded guilty to one charge of failing to provide and maintain a safe system of work without risks to health. At Heidelberg Magistrates' Court on Friday 2 August, it was placed on a 12-month Good Behaviour Bond without conviction and ordered to pay $6,139 in costs, in addition to the court fund payment.

The court heard that a forklift was loading produce onto a semi-trailer in March 2023 when a worker on foot moved out from behind a safety barrier to check the truck's load visually.

The load being carried blocked the forklift operator's view of the worker. The forklift struck the worker, causing serious injuries that required hospital treatment.

WorkSafe's investigation found the company lacked an adequate system to prevent collisions when pedestrians entered the loading dock. It also had no documented traffic management plan to separate forklifts and pedestrians.

Reasonably practicable measures included developing and communicating a traffic management plan with physical barricades separating workers from mobile plant. The plan could also have marked an exclusion zone, a driver safety zone and a pedestrian walkway, and set rules for loading and unloading, including keeping workers three metres away from operating forklifts.

WorkSafe Executive Director of Health and Safety Sam Jenkin said traffic management plans and other controls were vital wherever powered mobile plant operated. He said employers must physically separate forklifts and people on the ground, with pedestrian walkways and exclusion zones established and followed where they need to share an area.

"Sadly, an average of one worker every week is seriously injured in incidents involving forklifts, which is simply unacceptable given the risks are so well known."

How Blue Safe can help: Our free WHS self-check can help you review your business's approach to workplace safety and identify areas that may need closer attention. Take the free WHS self-check