A WorkSafe investigation found several safety failures led to the injury of a worker. Photo / 123RF
A WorkSafe investigation found several safety failures led to the injury of a worker. Photo / 123RF
A freight company has been ordered to pay more than $270,000 after a worker was injured when a cage fell three meters from a forklift.
WorkSafe found multiple safety failures contributed to a worker sustaining back injuries when a freight cage they were in fell three metres from a forklift.
PBT Transport was fined $250,000 and ordered to pay reparations of $20,000.
A WorkSafe investigation into the September 2016 incident found that the freight cage did not comply with industry standards nor had it been attached to the forklift correctly. In addition, it found PBT Transport was not implementing documented safety systems.
Simon Humphries, WorkSafe's head of specialist interventions, said PBT Transport need to learn from their mistakes before another life is put at risk.
"It was reasonably practicable for PBT Transport Ltd to ensure the freight cage they used complied with industry standards and that only trained, competent and authorised workers should be using the freight cage and forklift," he said.
"If you have a system in place – use it and when things go wrong – learn from your mistakes before another life is put at risk."
