The worker was injured while loading a heavy-goods vehicle (HGV) using a pallet truck at the site of Osprey Foods Limited in Holt, Norfolk, on 5 July 2023.
The HGV pulled away while the man was still inside the trailer, causing both him and the pallet truck to fall between the loading dock and the rear of the vehicle.
The injuries that he sustained as a result of the incident were so severe that his leg had to be amputated.
An investigation by the Health and Safety Executive (HSE) found that management at Osprey Foods had not taken appropriate measures to control vehicle movements on their site.
The traffic light system used to tell the HGV drivers when it is safe to move their vehicles had broken several weeks prior to the incident but had not been repaired. As a result, the traffic light remained green during the loading process, causing the driver to pull away thinking it was safe to do so and unaware that the man was still in the back of the vehicle.
Osprey Foods pleaded guilty to breaching sections 2 (1) and 3 (1) of the Health and Safety at Work etc Act 1974 and was fined £66,000 and ordered to pay £5,850 in costs at Peterborough Magistrates’ Court on 20 June 2025.
Commenting on the case, HSE inspector Natalie Prince said: “Every year, a significant number of incidents, many of them serious and sometimes fatal, occur as a result of failure to manage vehicles moving around safely.
“In this case, a simple repair to a traffic light system has resulted in a worker suffering life-changing injuries.”
This prosecution was brought by HSE enforcement lawyer Arfaq Nabi and paralegal officer Helen Hugo.
In related news, a meat producer in the UK has been fined £140,000 after an employee lost part of his finger while at work.
