Halesowen forklift death factory fined over impaled worker
A glue manufacturer has been fined more than £173,000 after a worker died when he was impaled on the prongs of a forklift truck.
Andrew Davies, 43, from Oldbury, West Midlands, was killed in July 2010 when he was unloading stock at Mapei UK, in Halesowen, West Midlands.
The company pleaded guilty at Wolverhampton Crown Court to breaching health and safety laws.
The Health and Safety Executive (HSE) brought the prosecution.
HSE inspector Mahesh Mahey said Mr Davies had "needlessly" lost his life.
"There were long-term, systematic failings by the company to adequately assess the risks and take sufficient control measures to ensure the transport yard," he added.
The court heard on Thursday Mr Davies had been pushed back by a reversing lorry, which pinned him on to the front of the forklift truck.
Managing director of Mapei UK, Mark Louch, said: "We have learned valuable lessons and changed safety procedures in the transport area.
"The [£173,000 fine] is irrelevant, we just feel for his family, and we also hold a special health and safety at work day on the Friday closest to [the anniversary of] Andrew's death as a memorial to him."