Retailer convicted and fined after forklift fall

One of Australia's biggest retailers has been fined $20,000 after a forklift fell from the back of a truck into the well of a loading dock in March last year.

WorkSafe told Dandenong magistrate Kay Macpherson a forklift driver was placing empty wooden pallets on a flat top trailer at a Woolworths (Vic) Pty Ltd warehouse in Wellington Road, Mulgrave when a truck driver moved the vehicle forward without warning.

This caused pallets on the forklift tynes to be caught on the truck's rear gates. The forklift driver jumped clear and was not hurt as the forklift fell into the loading dock.

A system of using coloured flags to warn truck drivers of the presence of forklifts had fallen into disuse at the time of the incident, however this has since been reintroduced.

Woolworths pleaded guilty to two charges under the Occupational Health and Safety Act and was convicted and fined $10,000 on each count. Costs of $3833 were awarded against the company.

The magistrate said it was extremely fortunate that the forklift driver was not injured and that the potential for serious injury or death was extremely high.