A Canberra man has graphically recounted to an ACT court how his leg was crushed and bones were left sticking out after he was struck by a forklift at work.
Matthew Thompson's leg was broken in six places while he was working in the yard at Capitol Chilled Foods in 2021.
In a victim impact statement to the ACT Industrial Court, Mr Thompson said he feared he would lose his leg.
He said he experienced significant pain in the time after the accident, had undergone several operations and one leg was now shorter than the other.
Mr Thompson has also been unable to return to work.
Capitol Chilled Foods has been charged with a category two safety breach of causing a risk of death or serious injury, a charge that can carry a potential fine of hundreds of thousands of dollars.
The court was shown CCTV footage of the accident, which showed the forklift driving into Mr Thompson, followed by people running towards the accident.
Prosecutor Sofia Janackovic told the court the forklift driver had been given a safety warning that morning, and there was a lack of supervision.
She said it was standard practice that forklift drivers followed safety precautions if they were carrying a load that obscured their view, as happened in this case.
"There does need to be a conviction and a fine of some significance," Ms Janackovic said.
"It's not about the actual accident — it's the risk and the failure of the offender to respond to the risk."
Lawyer Stephen Russell, who is representing the business, which is now owned by the Bega company, said the accident happened during the transfer of ownership.
He said strict safety practices were now in place.
"The chance of this occurring again is nil," Mr Russell said.
"It's a complete change — a change that should have been in place before the accident happened."
But the court stopped short of accepting an application for a non-conviction order.
Magistrate James Lawton also said the company being prosecuted was not Bega, but rather Capitol Chilled Foods.
He warned if he was fining Bega, its size would mean a much greater fine.
The company will be sentenced in February.
