Man died at work in Oldham while operating forklift

Ian Dawson, a forklift driver, was loading pallets onto a HGV at Chorlton Express Transport Limited, on Meek Street, Royton, on November 19, 2020.

As the 60-year-old from Rochdale was doing this, the HGV moved forward, causing the forklift truck to overturn.

Mr Dawson was not wearing a seat belt and became trapped beneath the vehicle, later dying as a result of his injuries.

Ian Dawson was loved by his family (Image: HSE)

Paying tribute to him, Mr Dawson's partner, Jane Medhurst, described the last moment she saw him before they both left for work on the morning of the day he died.

She said: “We told each other, ‘love you’, kissed and said, ‘see you later.’

“What happened that day was so catastrophic. It has drastically changed my life. I still find it difficult to cope with the loss of Ian.

“He loved his food and months after his death I still found myself shopping for him. Thinking oh that’s one of Ian’s favourites I will buy that. Even though I knew he was not here anymore.

“Although I now realise Ian will never come home again and I have now had to move out of the house we shared, it still haunts me that he is gone. It was so sudden and unexpected that I never got a chance to say goodbye to him.”

In an emotional tribute, Mr Dawson's daughter, Caitlin, described the ordeal as "traumatising" and said her life had been "turned upside down". 

The aftermath of the fatal incident (Image: HSE)

She said: “I can still remember getting the phone call that my dad had passed like it was yesterday. At just 19 years old when it happened, and it being the first time losing someone, it felt like my life had turned upside down, especially in the brutal terms it happened.

“To this day, I still sit and cry and the fact that I will never get to say goodbye to my dad. I will never be able to speak to him and he will never be able to take me shopping again, one of the most fond memories I have of him.

“It has been one of the most traumatising experiences of my life and I am still suffering every day because of it.”

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An investigation by the Health and Safety Executive (HSE) found that Chorlton Express Transport Limited had failed to put sufficient safe systems of work in place regarding vehicle movements, or to ensure that all forklift truck drivers were compelled to wear seat belts.

During a hearing at Manchester Magistrates' Court on Wednesday (April 17), the court heard that had Mr Dawson been wearing a seat belt, it is highly likely that this would have saved his life.

Chorlton Express Transport Limited pleaded guilty to breaching regulation 2(1) of the Health and Safety at Work etc Act 1974.

The company was fined £86,710 and was ordered to pay £5,903 costs.

HSE inspector Jane Carroll said: “The failures of this company has left a family without the man they loved.

“The importance of wearing seatbelts cannot be stressed enough.

"The failures meant the company exposed employees, and others, to the risk of being struck or caught by workplace vehicles.

“All work settings that use a forklift truck to load or unload goods, need to consider the risks arising from their use, and implement adequate measures to ensure the safety of those involved in these activities.”