A Lees employee was hurt by a forklift at a factory in Coatbridge, and the company was fined £5000

After a forklift incident, a worker at Lees of Scotland Limited in Coatbridge shattered his arm and cut open his skull.

The injury was caused by the misuse of a forklift truck, and Lees of Scotland Limited, a company that makes teacakes, snowballs, and meringues, pleaded guilty to a charge under health and safety laws on December 13, 2022, at Airdrie Sheriff Court.

The court was informed that two large, heavy wooden crates were delivered to the yard at the company's Coatbridge location on June 4, 2019. A piece of machinery weighing 1.680 tonnes was in the first. The second piece of equipment weighs 1.932 tonnes.

The back end of the forklift lifted off the ground when the forklift operator tried to retrieve the first package off the truck. The forklift could lift up to 1.6 tonnes of weight.

Several workers were encouraged to climb onto the forklift's back in order to try to balance it out by the manager and one of the company's directors. The crate might then be lowered to the ground by the forklift operator. 

The second crate was difficult for the driver to lift out of the HGV trailer as he started to remove it. The trailer's side support bar was damaged when the crate hit it, leaving the trailer's side uneven on the forks. The forklift truck was overbalanced, and the workers were instructed to board it again.

The forklift's rear plummeted to the ground when the driver turned around, and the crate came loose from the prongs. 

Most of the passengers on the forklift could leap to safety, but one worker was thrown to the ground and broke his arm and slashed open his skull. He was transported to a hospital by ambulance.

The Health and Safety Executive looked into the situation. They discovered that inadequate planning was to blame for the catastrophe.

The business neglected to finish a risk analysis to deliver the large, hefty crates. A risk analysis would have found that the forklift's inadequacy necessitated the creation of a lifting plan.