CCTV footage has captured the moment a 20-year-old warehouse worker suffered multiple fractures to his foot when the ride-on pallet truck he was using collided with a fork lift truck at a bed springs factory in Barnsley, Yorkshire.
Charlie O’Dowd was using the ride-on pallet truck during the installation of new automated machinery within the Long Royd warehouse on November 14, 2024, when the unguarded truck collided with a fork lift truck driven by another employee. Alongside the fractures, O’Dowd sustained longer-term nerve damage as a result of the incident.
HSE investigation findings
The Health and Safety Executive (HSE) investigated the incident and found that bed spring manufacturer Leggett & Platt Components Europe Limited had made changes to its workplace transport routes to accommodate the installation works. These changes meant that both ride-on pallet trucks and fork lift trucks were required to use the same routes within a busy stock loading area where visibility was limited.
The HSE concluded that the company had focused on the installation of the new machinery but failed to adequately consider the impact significant changes to workplace transport arrangements would have on worker safety. According to the HSE, the changes to vehicle routes had not been properly risk assessed before being implemented.
Court hearing and penalty
Following the incident, Leggett & Platt Components Europe Limited pleaded guilty to a breach of Section 2(1) of the Health & Safety at Work etc. Act 1974 in relation to the safe use of workplace transport within the warehouse. During a hearing at Leeds Magistrates' Court on October 20, the company was fined £80,000 and ordered to pay costs of £3,374.
HSE Inspector Chris Parker said: “This case highlights the importance of carefully assessing the wider safety implications of any changes made within a workplace, even where those changes may be temporary. When workplace transport routes are altered, employers must ensure that the risks created by those changes are properly assessed and controlled before they are introduced. Had suitable planning and risk assessment been carried out, this incident could have been prevented.”
The fine and costs order reflect the severity of the safety failings identified by the HSE investigation, which centred on the lack of a proper risk assessment for the altered transport routes in the busy stock loading area.
