Can I claim?
Every year, hundreds of UK workers receive life-shattering injuries in serious forklift truck accidents.
The statistics make for grim reading: every six weeks someone is killed and many more suffer injuries.
And it’s not just the people operating the forklift truck who are affected; two-thirds of those hospitalised through fork lift accidents are pedestrians.
“I was at work when I had an accident with a Fork Lift Truck,” “I was SHOPPING when I had an accident with a Fork Lift Truck.”
This is something we’ve heard time and time again here at Recovery Assist. Because of that our team of personal injury solicitors are adept and experienced at dealing with forklift truck accident claims.
What do guidelines say?
The Health and Safety Executive gives guidance on forklift truck accidents, providing information on the common causes and ways of preventing this type of accident.
Employers have a responsibility to ensure that drivers are adequately trained, that the areas where forklifts are used are sufficiently wide enough and have ample overhead clearance, and if pedestrians are allowed into those areas then risk assessments should be carried out and the areas clearly marked by the use of barriers or signs.
Your employer owes you a duty of care to provide a safe working environment. If you have been involved in one of the many forklift truck accidents that happen each year, then your employer may have breached his duties towards you.
How Accidents with Forklift Trucks happen
Accidents with forklift trucks tend to involve workers on or near building sites but there are a growing number of accidents occurring in retail premises involving members of the public.
If you’re visiting a DIY Store, garden centre or warehouse or any retail premises where forklift trucks are being used and you are injured you may be able to make a claim for compensation if you can show that the owners had not taken sufficient care for your safety.
Common incidences are trucks toppling over because of overloading, uneven surfaces or potholes; collisions between trucks, staff or visitors; loads falling off and causing injury and trucks colliding with walls, shelves and other objects creating a danger to the operator and anyone in the vicinity.
Accidents can also happen when a forklift truck is being driven too fast or where the forklift truck driver himself steps off the truck and into a pothole or falls because of an uneven floor.
Passers-by can be hurt if they fall while trying to get out of the way of an approaching forklift truck that is being driven carelessly or too close.
What you need to know
- To drive a forklift truck in the UK a person is obliged by Law to undergo the correct training
- Workplaces using forklift trucks should also supply the operators with the correct Personal Protective Equipment (PPE) such as fluorescent jackets, hard hats and safety boots
- Forklift trucks should be inspected and maintained in a safe condition
- There should be separation of vehicular and pedestrian routes
- Protective barriers should be located just beyond entrances and exits to prevent pedestrians stepping out into the path of a passing forklift truck
- The vehicular routes for forklifts should be clearly marked
- Forklift trucks should give way and precedence to pedestrians
If you have been involved in one of the many accidents that happen each year with forklift trucks, contact our expert team at Recovery Assist for specialist advice as soon as possible, and we will be able to tell you if you are entitled to personal injury compensation. Ring us now on 0161 762 4949 – and remember, we operate on a “no win, no fee” basis.
Click on our body calculator to find out how much compensation you could expect for your injuries from a forklift truck (FLT) accident.
Call Us on 0161 762 4949
Text 4949 to 88802
E-mail: info@recoveryassist.co.uk