Parcels firm fined after employee loses leg

A firm has been fined £200,000 after a worker lost a leg in a horrific accident.

Les More was struck by a forklift truck in a warehouse at Eurocentral and trapped under the vehicle for an hour.

Surgeons at Glasgow Royal Infirmary couldn’t save his left leg, which had to be amputated above the knee.

DX Networks Services was slammed by Sheriff Douglas Brown over the “clearly foreseeable”incident.

The firm had initially blamed Mr More and the forklift driver, but the sheriff said there had been a“systemic failure”to separate forklifts and pedestrians at the depot.

DX Networks, which employs 3500 people at sites across the UK, admitted breaching workplace safety legislation.

Hamilton Sheriff Court heard that warehouse operative Mr More, 58, spent six weeks in hospital, including 15 days in intensive care, after the accident in January 2018.

Neil Thomson, prosecuting, said:“His left leg had to be amputated above the knee and he underwent four skin graft surgeries on his lower right leg.

“He continues to receive physiotherapy and counselling.

“His wife has had to give up her job to become his full time carer and their home has been modified so he can continue to live there.”

Mr More was moving items from a sorting area to a pallet when he was struck by a reversing forklift truck.

The fiscal explained:“Initially the driver thought he’d hit a piece of wood.

He realised he’d run over someone only when he heard shouts from other operatives.”

An investigation by the Health and Safety Executive found that there was no rule to stop forklifts crossing a marked pedestrian walkway in the warehouse.

DX Networks blamed Mr More and the truck driver for the accident, accusing them of“poor observational behaviour”.

But Mr Thomson stated:“Operatives were crossing back and forth constantly between the sorting area and 17 bays, as were forklifts.

“They were moving in all directions, often carrying large items that had the potential to limit visibility.

“There was no priority given to separating pedestrians and vehicles.

That failure is at the root of this incident.”

The company, whose clients include Government agencies and the NHS, took immediate steps after the accident to improve safety at the depot.

Advocate Barry Smith admitted: “There was perhaps an over-reliance on staff avoiding the risk of collisions by paying attention.

“Company safety policy is now designed to pervade every aspect of the business.”

Mr Smith said DX has a yearly turnover of £300 million but is trading at a slight loss.

Sheriff Brown said he would have imposed a £300,000 fine had the company not pleaded guilty. It was given a year to pay.