A shipping company has been fined more than £146,000 after an employee suffered life-changing injuries when he was hit by a reversing forklift truck.
The 43-year-old man was on foot, unclipping the curtain side of an articulated trailer when he was struck by the vehicle at Streamline Shipping Agencies Limited’s premises in Aberdeen in 2024, the Health and Safety Executive (HSE) said.
One of the forklift truck’s wheels hit his leg, pulling him to the ground, and he suffered multiple fractures to his right foot and lower leg, as well as a degloving injury.
He has undergone skin grafts and two surgical procedures, and has not yet returned to work since the incident on September 26, 2024.
An HSE investigation found that Streamline Shipping Agencies Limited failed to ensure its workplace was organised in such a way that pedestrians and vehicles could circulate safely.
HSE said that Streamline Shipping Agencies Limited pleaded guilty to breaching Health and Safety at Work and Workplace (Health, Safety and Welfare) regulations.
The company was fined £146,700 and ordered to pay a victim surcharge of £11,000 at Aberdeen Sheriff Court on May 22 2026, HSE said.
HSE inspector Nicky Smith said: “This was a serious and wholly avoidable incident that has had a profound and lasting impact on this worker’s life.
“Employers have a legal duty to ensure that pedestrians and vehicles can move safely within their workplaces, particularly in busy areas where loading and unloading takes place.
“Having a traffic management plan is not enough if it does not contain the detail needed to protect workers on the ground.
“We will not hesitate to hold companies to account when they fall short of their obligations.”
The HSE investigation found that while Streamline had a traffic management plan in place, it did not have the detail necessary to ensure that loading and unloading – which were routinely carried out concurrently in the same area – could be done safely without putting people on foot at risk from vehicles that were moving.
HSE concluded it was reasonably foreseeable that an employee on foot faced a risk of being struck by a moving vehicle when both the driver and the pedestrian were concentrating on their respective tasks near each other.
An improvement notice was served on the company following the investigation.
HSE said that, in response, Streamline made a series of improvements to its traffic management arrangements to the satisfaction of the Health and Safety Executive.
A spokesperson for the company said: “Streamline Shipping Agencies Limited acknowledges the outcome of proceedings at Aberdeen Sheriff Court.
“This was a serious incident and our thoughts remain with our colleague and his family.
“We recognise the serious and lasting impact this has had on his life.
“Following the incident and the HSE investigation, we reviewed and strengthened our traffic management arrangements, with improvements made to the satisfaction of HSE.
“Out of respect for our colleague and all those involved, we will not be providing further comment at this stage.”
