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Needless death of teenage forklift truck driver

A firm has been fined £450,000 after the "needless" death of 19 year old Ben Pallier-Singleton from Disley in Cheshire who was working as a forklift truck driver.

Mr Pallier-Singleton died when the forklift truck he had been driving overturned at Vinyl Compound Ltd's site in High Peak, Derbyshire on 10 February 2015.

The Health and Safety Executive (HSE) who brought a prosecution against Vinyl Compound Ltd alleged that they failed to properly train Mr Pallier-Singleton and failed to put safety measures in place.

The firm admitted breaching the Health and Safety at Work Act and Management of Health and Safety at Work Regulations at a Hearing at Manchester Crown Court in Minshull Street and were also ordered to pay almost £72,000 in costs.

Richard Edwards, senior personal injury solicitor at Potter Rees Dolan, said:

This was a truly tragic but avoidable accident and my condolences go out to the family of this young man. I have acted for a number of people who have suffered injuries in accidents involving forklift trucks. Simple precautions would have avoided them all.

The common theme I find is corner cutting by employers. Simple and inexpensive steps can easily be taken to minimise the risk of harm to people who work on and around these hazardous machines. There are no excuses.

Mr Pallier-Singleton's mother Kathryn Pallier said after the sentencing: "I am heartbroken and angry Ben could go to work and be killed because his employer Vinyl Compounds took so little care of him, failed to train him or make sure the workplace was safe. The directors who made the decisions will be now able to get on with their lives but we are serving a life sentence. Any fine they have paid is nothing, no penalty at all compared to the penalty we face: life-long torment, endless sadness and grief without Ben."

HSE inspector Berian Price said the tragedy "could have easily been prevented". Adding that the firm's lack of safety measures had "exposed employees to serious safety risks" and in this case resulted in the "needless loss of Mr Pallier-Singleton's life".

Richard Edwards is a senior personal injury solicitor with Potter Rees Dolan. Should you have any queries about the issues raised in this article or indeed any other aspect of personal injury and wish to speak to Richard or any other member of the team please contact us on 0161 237 5888 or email Richard directly.

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