Tudor Stonework in Middlesex has been fined £466 and ordered to pay £5,570 costs after an employee was struck by a forklift truck while he was helping guide the movement of a slab. 

The forklift ran over the employee’s foot, resulting in an open fracture to his left leg as well as crush injuries to his foot.

Peterborough Magistrates’ Court heard this month (9 February) how on 22 January 2019 the employee of Tudor Stonework Ltd was injured when stone slabs were being lifted by a forklift.

The system of work required two operatives to walk in front of the forklift truck to steady the suspended load. However, during this operation the forklift truck ran over the foot of one of the operatives.

An investigation by the Health & Safety Executive (HSE) into the incident found that the system of work for transporting stone slabs was not safe, as it required the operatives to be in close proximity to the moving forklift truck.

Tudor Stonework Ltd of Silver Street, Enfield, Middlesex, a specialist in interior and exterior stonework, pleaded guilty to breaching Section 2(1) of the Health & Safety at Work Act 1974. It was fined £466 and ordered to pay costs of £5,570.

Speaking after the hearing, HSE inspector Tom Pouncey said: “Industry practices should be reassessed where other stonemasons may be transporting stone slabs in a similar way.

“Companies should be aware that HSE will not hesitate to take appropriate enforcement action against those that fall below the required standards.”