One of our Personal Injury experts specialising in workplace accident claims answers a common and important question for those injured in forklift related incidents.
‘’I was injured in a forklift accident at work. Can I claim compensation?’’
Answer:
‘’Yes, you may be able to claim compensation if your injury was caused by your employer’s negligence. Employers have a legal duty to provide a safe working environment, including ensuring that forklift trucks are properly maintained, that operators are trained and competent, and that appropriate safety measures are in place. If these duties were not met and this led to your injury, you may be entitled to bring a claim. Forklift accidents can result in serious injuries, including crush injuries, fractures, and head or spinal injuries. If you have been injured, it is important to report the incident, seek medical attention, and gather any evidence where possible. We can help you understand whether you may be eligible to make a claim.’’
Understanding your legal position
Forklift accidents are one of the more serious types of workplace incidents and can occur in warehouses, construction sites, factories, distribution centres and other environments where workplace transport is used. Because forklift trucks are heavy, powerful vehicles, accidents can cause severe injuries, including crush injuries, fractures, head injuries, spinal injuries, and even amputations.
Employers have clear duties under health and safety law to protect employees and others who may be affected by workplace activities. Under the Health and Safety at Work etc. Act 1974, employers must take reasonably practicable steps to protect the health, safety and welfare of their employees at work. This includes providing safe equipment, safe systems of work, appropriate training and supervision, and a safe working environment.
There are also more specific duties under regulations such as the Management of Health and Safety at Work Regulations 1999 and the Provision and Use of Work Equipment Regulations 1998, often known as PUWER. In practice, this means employers should assess the risks created by forklift use, make sure vehicles are suitable and properly maintained, ensure operators are trained and competent, and put safe working systems in place. HSE guidance also makes clear that employers should manage workplace transport risks and separate pedestrians and vehicles wherever possible.
From a legal perspective, a claim will usually focus on whether there was a breach of duty. This means looking at whether the employer failed to take reasonable steps to keep people safe. For example, there may be a breach where a forklift operator was not properly trained, where a vehicle was poorly maintained, where there was no safe traffic management system, where pedestrians and vehicles were not separated, where loads were unsafe or unsecured, or where employees were expected to work in narrow, poorly lit or hazardous areas without proper supervision.
It is also necessary to show causation. This means showing that the breach of duty caused, or materially contributed to, the accident and your injuries. For example, if an employer failed to provide a banksman, failed to plan a lifting operation properly, or allowed an unsafe load to be moved, the question would be whether that failure led to the accident happening. Our team can investigate this by reviewing accident reports, workplace records, training documents, maintenance records, CCTV footage and witness evidence.
Evidence is particularly important in workplace accident claims. Useful evidence may include the accident book entry, RIDDOR reports where applicable, photographs of the scene, CCTV footage, witness details, training records, maintenance logs, risk assessments, safe systems of work, method statements and medical records. Some of this evidence may be held by your employer or the site operator, so getting legal advice early can help ensure the right documents are requested and preserved.
If a claim is successful, compensation is intended to reflect both the injury itself and the wider impact on your life. This may include pain and suffering, loss of earnings, medical treatment, rehabilitation, care and support needs, travel expenses, and the effect on your ability to work in the future. Where the injury has caused long-term physical symptoms or psychological trauma, these should also be properly assessed, often with evidence from independent medical experts.
Because evidence such as CCTV footage, witness accounts and workplace records can become harder to obtain over time, it is important to seek legal advice as early as possible.
If you have been injured in a forklift accident at work and want to understand whether you may be able to make a claim, call us on 0808 149 9561 for a free, no-obligation claims assessment and find out how we may be able to help.
