A seafood processing company has been fined after a worker died following injuries sustained when she was run over by a forklift.
Lerwick Sheriff Court heard that on 31 January 2018, an employee of QA Fish Ltd suffered significant leg injuries as a pedestrian, following a vehicular collision.
A joint investigation by the Health and Safety Executive (HSE) and Police Scotland found that no site-specific workplace transport risk assessment had been carried out.
The use of the forklift was critical for the function of the business and the company failed to provide suitable and sufficient control measures to ensure that pedestrians and vehicles could circulate in a safe manner in the exterior of the premises, particularly with regards to the forklift.
The company failed to implement effective arrangements for the management of health and safety, and also failed to act on the advice of a health and safety consultant several years before the incident.
QA Fish Ltd pleaded guilty to breaching the Health and Safety at Work etc. Act 1974 and were fined £80,000, to be paid within 12 months.
HSE inspector Connor Gibson, said: "The tragic outcome of this incident clearly highlights why dutyholders must ensure that vehicle and pedestrian movements at their work site are properly assessed and adequately controlled. This fatal incident could and should have been prevented via suitable and sufficient control measures segregating pedestrians from vehicle movements".
