A Kent-based plastics manufacturer has been fined £400,000 after an employee was seriously injured by a forklift truck.
The worker was struck while walking to collect materials at FloPlast Limited’s Eurolink Business Park site on 4 July 2023, sustaining multiple leg fractures and a dislocated ankle requiring a metal plate.
HSE found no documented safe system of work, close pedestrian-vehicle proximity, non-compliance with one-way systems, no compliance monitoring, and no visibility assessments for vehicles.
FloPlast Ltd pleaded guilty to breaching Section 2(1) of the Health and Safety at Work etc. Act 1974, fined £400,000 with £5,567 costs. Inspector Peter Bruce warned that poor vehicle-pedestrian segregation is a common cause of serious injury and urged employers to implement proper controls.
