A shipping company has been fined more than £146,000 after an employee sustained life-changing injuries when he was struck by a reversing forklift truck at its premises in Aberdeen.
Incident Details
The 43-year-old man was on foot, unclipping the curtain side of an articulated trailer, when he was hit by the vehicle at Streamline Shipping Agencies Limited’s site in September 2024, according to the Health and Safety Executive (HSE). One of the forklift truck’s wheels ran over his leg, pulling him to the ground, resulting in 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.
HSE Investigation
An HSE investigation found that Streamline Shipping Agencies Limited failed to ensure its workplace was organised in a way that allowed pedestrians and vehicles to circulate safely. The company pleaded guilty to breaching the Health and Safety at Work etc. Act and the Workplace (Health, Safety and Welfare) Regulations.
At Aberdeen Sheriff Court on May 22, 2026, the company was fined £146,700 and ordered to pay a victim surcharge of £11,000.
Inspector's Statement
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.”
Failures and Improvements
The HSE investigation revealed that while Streamline had a traffic management plan, it lacked the necessary detail to ensure that loading and unloading—routinely carried out concurrently in the same area—could be done safely without putting pedestrians at risk from moving vehicles. 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 in close proximity.
Following the investigation, an improvement notice was served on the company. In response, Streamline made a series of improvements to its traffic management arrangements, which satisfied the HSE.
Streamline Shipping has been approached for comment.
