Company fined after warehouse accident leaves worker injured

21 Sep 2022

A Bury St Edmunds company has been ordered to pay nearly £48,000 after an accident which left a worker with a compound fracture to one of his legs.

Norish Ltd of Northern Way, Bury St Edmunds pleaded guilty to a single charge of breaching the Health and Safety at Work Act 1974 at a hearing last Thursday (15 September).

Chelmsford Magistrates Court heard how the incident happened in its warehouse in November 2019 shortly before 2pm. An agency worker was talking to a colleague when he stepped back into the path on a forklift truck which struck him and then ran over his leg.

A doctor and ambulance were called to the scene. The worker suffered a compound fracture to one of his legs. He was taken to hospital, where he underwent surgery to have his leg pinned with a metal support bar running from his ankle to his knee cap. The agency worker remained in hospital for three days.

Following the accident, he was unable to walk for three months and was off work for 11 months.

West Suffolk Council’s Environmental Health team investigated and prosecuted the company.

The hearing on 15 September, was told that the company has since put in measures to prevent similar accidents from occurring again. 

Norish Ltd was fined £34,000 by Chelmsford Magistrates Court and ordered to pay another £13,810.19 in costs. The company must also pay a victim surcharge of £170.

Speaking afterwards, a Council spokesperson said: “The case highlights the importance of having safe systems of work and adequate risk assessments in place.”
 

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