£2.4m compensation for worker paralysed by fork lift

A worker who was paralysed in an accident at work has been awarded £2.4 million compensation. Greg Arde sustained serious spinal injuries when a fork lift truck he was driving fell on top of him while he was at work. The accident, in 1995, left him paraplegic and he now requires 24-hour care.

As the Workplacelaw Network reported last month, employers have until 5 December 2002 to ensure that all mobile work equipment – including fork lift trucks -provided for use before 5 December 1998 must comply with Part III of the Provision and Use of Work Equipment Regulations (PUWER) 1998.

This means ensuring that such equipment used at work is safe – i.e. risks are controlled, if not eliminated.

The Health and Safety Executive (HSE) has more information on training workers to use fork lifts.
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