South Auckland company fined $252K after worker pinned by forklift

Tuesday, 2 October 2018

A south Auckland company has been fined more than $250,000 for failing to ensure the safety of a worker who was badly injured by a forklift.

A truck driver was gathering goods at the Kuehne + Nagel Limited site in Māngere in June 2016 when he was pinned by an operating forklift, fracturing his left foot in seven places.

Kuehne + Nagel, a Swiss transport and logistics company, was sentenced at the Manukau District Court on Monday for failing to ensure the health and safety of a worker, WorkSafe said.

It was fined $252,000 and ordered to pay $20,000 in reparation to the worker.

WorkSafe said an investigation found the company had some safety protocols in place, but the worker was not aware of them and they were not enforced.

'Forklifts are difficult to manoeuvre, they are frequently loaded to the point where visibility is compromised and they can be deadly when pedestrians are involved,' WorkSafe spokesman Simon Humphries said. 

'Traffic management should be a paramount health and safety concern for businesses using them and for those with vehicles moving on, off and around your workplace.'