Bilston textiles firm fined after telehandler hit worker

A textiles firm has been fined £300,000 after a worker suffered serious leg injuries when he was hit by a telehandler.

The man – now 42 – had been moving clothes from part of the factory in Bilston, Wolverhampton, when he was struck by the vehicle on 23 March 2023.

JMP Wilcox & Company Limited, of Beldray Road, pleaded guilty to breaching the Health and Safety at Work Act and was sentenced at Dudley Magistrates’ Court.

The Health and Safety Executive (HSE) said the business had failed to properly manage vehicle movements on site and to make sure the workplace was safe for its employees.

The worker had been using a ride-on electric pallet truck inside the factory, which reclaims and processes textiles, moving clothing to sorting lines and other parts of the building.

He and a supervisor were finding stock in the area, with the employee using his truck to return an empty cage, when he was hit by the telescopic handler, driven by another worker.

Telehandlers are pieces of machinery used to lift and move materials with a telescopic boom making up much of the machine, which can be extended forward and upwards.

“This incident highlights the dangers to safety from inadequate management of workplace transport,” said HSE inspector Gail Bell.

“A man suffered very serious injuries due to the failure to put suitable control measures in place.”

Poor working practices prior to the incident were captured on CCTV, said an HSE spokesperson.

They added it was important to assess risks around using the likes of telescopic handlers and forklift trucks, the need to keep them separate from pedestrians and introducing those controls.

The court said the firm’s guilty plea was taken into account when imposing the sentence on 20 June.

JMP Wilcox was fined £300,000, ordered to pay a victim services surcharge of £2,000 and costs of £7,732.24.