Food Processing Firm in Court over Workplace Accident

Surya Rice Limited, a Harwich-based food processing company that trades as Surya Foods, has been fined £9,000 and was ordered to pay costs of £3,214 at Colchester Magistrates’ Court, after pleading guilty to breaching Section 2(1) of the Health and Safety at Work etc Act 1974. The firm was prosecuted after one of its workers suffered a serious accident with a fork-lift truck then contacted the  injury solicitors . On the 14th July 2010, 49-year-old Jan Kaminski, an employee of Surya Rice Limited, was operating machinery at the firm’s factory in Harwich. Working in the rice packing zone, Mr Kaminski, of Harwich, was hit from behind by a fork-lift truck which was transporting a large quantity of boxed rice flour. Mr Kaminski was left seriously injured by the accident, sustaining a fractured right leg and severe bruising on his left leg. The injured worker required hospital treatment but managed to make a full recovery. Health and Safety Executive inspectors investigated the accident and concluded that Mr Kaminski ought not to have been in the path of the fork-lift truck. The investigators revealed that the entire process of moving the boxes of rice flour on pallets was unsafe because fork-lift trucks were required to move among heavy pedestrian traffic. Surya Rice Limited should have carried out a risk assessment of the task and deemed it unsafe to allow workers to walk among fork-lift trucks. Instead, clearly defined pathways should have been reserved for pedestrians working in the factory. Medical negligence claims  involving incidents in the manufacturing industry are common in the UK, with many such accident claims arising after workers have been struck by vehicles or have gained access to dangerous or defective machinery. In the present case, Mr Kaminski ought to have been able to expect that his employer had taken sufficient steps to ensure his health and safety at work. Unfortunately, that was not the case. Speaking after the court hearing, Toni Drury, an inspector for the Health and Safety Executive, said: “This incident could and should have been prevented. Workplace transport is a priority area for health and safety and the danger to workers being hit by vehicles is obvious. “Employers must ensure that the interaction between moving vehicles and pedestrians in the workplace is managed properly. If workplaces are correctly designed, then the chances of someone being injured like this are greatly reduced. There is plenty of free advice and guidance available from HSE to help businesses comply with the law and keep people safe. HSE will not hesitate to take action against companies failing to comply with the law.” This is a guest post

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Food Processing Firm in Court over Workplace Accident