Forklift driver death accidental

An inquest jury has returned a verdict of accidental death after a forklift driver was fatally injured at work.

John Whittington, 58, from Wollaton, died after girders fell on him, the jury in Nottingham heard.

He was working at the Eastwood depot of bicycle maker Raleigh when the accident happened on 27 September 2007.

The inquest was told he was driving the truck with the forks in a raised position when he hit a doorway, knocking down girders and rubble.

He died from his injuries after being airlifted to the Queen's Medical Centre in Nottingham.

Previous accidents

The inquest heard Mr Whittington was an experienced forklift driver but he had been driving the forklift truck with the forks raised - a practice against workplace rules - when he hit the top of a low doorway.

Although there were no witnesses to the crash it is thought he was flung from the truck seat.

The impact knocked down girders and rubble which crushed him. A pathologist said the cause of death was a crush injury which fractured his spine and tore his aorta.

The court heard evidence about two previous accidents where forklift trucks had struck the tops of low doorways inside the warehouse.

Safety inspections

Frank Ellis, the depot's site manager, admitted failing to anticipate the kind of accident that happened to Mr Whittington in risk assessments.

But he said local authority inspectors and an independent expert had also failed to spot the danger in inspections prior to Mr Whittington's accident.

A health and safety expert who examined the scene told the court there had been a foreseeable risk of the accident happening.

Following Mr Whittington's death the company has raised the doorway to ceiling height and introduced a raft of other health and safety measures.