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Workplace vehicles and mobile machinery can present serious risks to employees, particularly where pedestrians and vehicles operate in the same areas.
A recent Health and Safety Executive (HSE) prosecution has highlighted the potentially devastating consequences when workplace transport risks are not properly managed. A waste and recycling company was fined £400,000 after a 22-year-old employee suffered life-changing injuries when she was crushed between a mobile shredder and a gate post at a site in Basildon.
The HSE found that the movement of pedestrians and vehicles had not been properly managed, with pedestrians routinely walking close to moving vehicles, including shredders, lorries and forklift trucks.
While the circumstances of this particular case are specific to that workplace, it highlights a much wider issue: what steps should employers take to protect workers from being struck or crushed by workplace vehicles and machinery?
The dangers of workplace transport
Workplace transport accidents can result in some of the most serious types of injury.
Workers may be struck by a moving vehicle, trapped between vehicles or machinery and a fixed object, or injured when a vehicle is reversing. Forklift trucks, heavy goods vehicles, mobile plant and other machinery can all present significant risks.
The danger is particularly acute where pedestrians and vehicles are operating within the same confined space.
HSE guidance recommends separating pedestrian and vehicle routes wherever possible. Where they have to share an area, appropriate measures should be put in place to reduce the risk of collisions, including designated walkways, crossing points, barriers and suitable traffic-management arrangements.
When unsafe practices become "normal"
One particularly important aspect of the recent HSE case was the finding that it had become "custom and practice" for pedestrians to walk in areas close to moving vehicles.
This highlights a potential danger in any workplace: an unsafe practice can become normalised over time.
An employee may see colleagues routinely walking through an area used by vehicles. If nobody intervenes, the practice can gradually become accepted as part of the normal working routine.
But the fact that something has become commonplace does not necessarily make it safe.
Employers have a responsibility to identify foreseeable risks and take reasonably practicable steps to control them. They should not simply rely on workers remembering to take care or assuming that employees will always make the safest decision in a busy working environment.
How can employers reduce the risk?
The precautions required will depend on the workplace and the vehicles or machinery being used.
However, employers should consider measures such as:
- separating pedestrian and vehicle routes wherever reasonably practicable;
- using physical barriers to prevent pedestrians entering vehicle operating areas;
- providing clearly designated pedestrian walkways and crossing points;
- managing reversing operations and addressing visibility issues;
- providing appropriate training and supervision;
- controlling access to areas where mobile plant is operating; and
- regularly reviewing risk assessments and safety arrangements.
Effective workplace safety is not simply about having written procedures. Those procedures also need to work in practice.
What if you have been injured by a workplace vehicle?
For an employee who has suffered a serious injury, the immediate concern is not necessarily the employer's HSE compliance record. It is the impact that the injury may have on their life.
A serious crush or collision injury can result in fractures, spinal injuries, amputations, brain injuries or other life-changing consequences. An injured worker may face a lengthy period away from work, loss of earnings, rehabilitation needs and uncertainty about whether they will be able to return to their previous employment.
In the most serious cases, an injury can affect a person's ability to live independently and may result in long-term care, assistance or adaptations to their home.
This is why investigating the circumstances of a workplace accident is so important.
Practitioner's perspective – Rebecca Thomas, Personal Injury Director
"When someone is seriously injured at work, it is important to look beyond the fact that an accident occurred and understand why it happened. In cases involving workplace vehicles or machinery, we will often need to consider how the site was actually being operated, whether the risks were properly assessed and whether reasonable measures were in place to protect employees.”
"For an injured worker, the consequences can be life-changing. A serious workplace injury can affect their ability to work, their independence and their family's financial circumstances for many years. It is therefore important that both the circumstances of the accident and the individual's longer-term needs are properly investigated."
Could you have a personal injury claim?
An HSE investigation or prosecution and a civil personal injury claim are separate matters.
Where an employee has suffered an injury at work, it may be appropriate to investigate whether the accident resulted from a failure by the employer or another party to take reasonable steps to protect the worker.
Relevant evidence may include risk assessments, workplace procedures, training records, accident reports, CCTV footage, photographs, witness evidence and information about previous incidents or complaints.
It may also be important to establish how the workplace was actually operating, rather than simply looking at written procedures. For example, if an employer has a policy requiring pedestrians and vehicles to be separated but workers are routinely expected or permitted to walk through areas used by moving vehicles, this may raise important questions when investigating an accident.
The content of this article is intended to provide a general guide to the subject matter. Specialist advice should be sought about your specific circumstances.
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