25-year-old worker killed when load fell from forklift

Bruce Dempsey, 25, from Eccles, was walking alongside the forklift as it moved the machine at Applied Fusion in Patricroft when it fell and struck him on the head. He died at the scene.

The company was prosecuted by the Health and Safety Executive (HSE) after an investigation into the incident, on 2 December 2009, found it had not planned the work in advance so that the machine could be moved safely.

Applied Fusion, which went into administration in March last year, was found guilty of breaching Section 2(1) of the Health and Safety at Work etc Act 1974 by failing to ensure the safety of its employees. The company received a nominal fine of £1.

Manchester Crown Court heard that Applied Fusion had been moving four of its machines into a bigger workshop at the factory. It was during the move of the fourth machine that it became unstable and fell, resulting in Mr Dempsey's death.

The court was told the company had taken over the Fielding Street factory six weeks before the incident, but a health and safety audit had not been carried out at the company's new premises.

The firm also failed to inform its own trained engineer responsible for overseeing lifting operations that it was planning to move the machines at the plant.
The forklift operator who lifted the machine had attended a one-day driver training course in October 2006, but was not trained and competent to lift any complicated loads that were not on pallets.

HSE Inspector Mike Lisle said: "Bruce Dempsey sadly lost his life because of the failings of his employer. It was important to bring this case to court to raise awareness of this issue so that similar tragic incidents can be prevented from happening again.

"Workers at the factory were told to move heavy, bulky machinery using a forklift truck, and the company should have made sure the work was properly planned in advance. If the machine had been strapped to the forks, and workers told to stay a safe distance away, then Mr Dempsey's death could have been avoided."