An incident in Exeter which left one man with severe leg injuries could result in an accident compensation claim.
The man, who was a visiting worker at the waste transfer site, suffered serious leg injuries after being hit by a reversing telehandler vehicle.
His calf muscle was detached and a toe almost severed. Meanwhile, several bones in his foot were broken, which left him off work for around six months after the accident.
Now, charges have been brought by the Health and Safety Executive (HSE) against the employer. A fine of £4,500 was brought against the site operator, which was also ordered to pay £818 in costs by the Exeter magistrates.
Simon Jones, HSE inspector, observed that the incident could “easily have resulted in a fatality at the site”. He added that site operators should work to ensure that only vehicles that have had blind spots eliminated are allowed to operate on site in order to avoid accidents such as this occurring.
Indeed, the injuries were obtained partly because the telehandler was not fitted with a reversing camera to allow the driver to see who was standing behind it.