One teenager from Plymouth may choose to file a work accident claim after he fell twenty feet, suffering serious personal harm, as he was working to replace light bulbs in the ceiling of a factory.
Looseleigh native Tom Davis, eighteen years old, had been working alongside a fellow trainee of CL Electrical Solutions Ltd at the time of the accident, personal injury lawyers familiar with the case recently said. Young Mr Davis had been working at Plympton’s HT Gardner Distribution Ltd where he and his colleague had been working to replace light bulbs in the company’s warehouse ceiling when the forklift truck he was riding upon toppled over, causing injuries that could lead to a personal injury compensation case.
Mr Davis’ colleague had been driving the forklift truck at the time, while the injured teenager himself was within a cage that had been fitted to the forklift for the express purpose of reaching the ceiling. However when the forklift toppled, Mr Davis suffered numerous cuts and bruises, facial injuries, and a fractured pelvis.
The Health and Safety Executive launched an investigation shortly after the incident, revealing that neither Mr Davis nor the other trainee had received any formal training in forklift truck operation. Moreover HSE investigators discovered that the cage that had been strapped to the forklift had not been suitable in regards to the task for which it was being used.
After both HT Gardner Distribution Ltd and CL Electrical Solutions Ltd admitted at Plymouth Magistrates’ Court that they had been in breach of the Health and Safety at Work Act, both firms were fined £20,000 and £7,000 respectively.