If you have been caused injury by a forklift truck (FLT) at work then you are not on your own.

Forklift truck accidents account for more than one serious accident per day in the UK. They feature prominently in work related accidents and account for a number of fatalities a year. They are also responsible for a number of injuries in retail outlets and on or near building sites.

Some of the reasons why these types of accidents occur are as a direct result of poor operator training, poor maintenance or inadequate premises.

Employee Accidents

An employer is responsible for the operations of any forklift trucks in the workplace. There are a number of statutes that regulate use of this type of machinery and breaches of those regulations could lead to financial penalty for the employer and a potential claim from the injured party.

If you have been injured by a forklift truck whilst at work and are wondering whether you might be entitled to compensation, then consider the following:

Your employer owes you a duty of care to provide a safe working environment. If you have been involved in one of the many forklift truck accidents then your employer may have breached his duties towards you. He may also be in breach of his many statutory responsibilities, i.e. those obligations he has because of various Acts passed by parliament.

Common incidences are trucks toppling over because of overloading, collisions between trucks and staff, loads falling off and causing injury and trucks colliding with walls, shelves and other objects creating a danger to the operator and anyone in the vicinity. Maybe you!

The Health and Safety Executive gives guidance on forklift truck accidents with the aim of providing information on the common causes and ways of preventing this type of accident. Management has the responsibility to ensure that drivers are adequately trained, that the areas where the fork lifts are used are sufficiently wide and have ample overhead clearance and if pedestrians are allowed into those areas then there should be risk assessments done and the areas clearly marked by the use of barriers or signs.

If an employee is injured in an accident involving a fork lift truck, then the employer may be found responsible, if it can be proved that he has not taken adequate care and has been negligent. If that can be proved then the injured employee may then have a right to compensation including his or her loss of earnings, travel expenses, medication costs and in the more serious cases, costs of caring for him or her, costs of adapting premises, costs of adapted transport and many more other losses.

If you are not an employee

It may of course be the case that you have been injured by a forklift truck even though you are not an employee. You could have been visiting an area where forklifts are being used. For example, many large wholesale food operators use forklifts to fill shelves whilst members of the public are in the vicinity. Injury can be caused by speeding trucks, by operators dropping loads onto you or colliding with objects that then fall on you are some examples. You are owed you a duty of care even if you are not an employee. You can still get compensation if you are a visitor to an area where forklifts are being used and can show that the owners had not taken sufficient care of your safety.

If you have been involved in one of the thousands of accidents that happen each year with forklift trucks then seek specialist advice as soon as possible as there may be a chance that you will be entitled to compensation.

Click on the compensation guide to find out how much compensation you could expect for your injuries from a forklift truck (FLT) accident.