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Boss fined for fork lift horror
A BOSS has been fined thousands of pounds for his part in an accident which left a teenager with a broken leg.
Anthony Baillie was driving the forklift truck fitted with a 'makeshift extension' which caused a half-ton metal plate to drop on 17-year-old Jonathan Holmes' leg at Sub Surface Engineering (SSE) in Salterns Lane, Fareham.
Baillie, a general manager for the marine engineering specialists, was attempting to tidy the workshop when the accident happened on April 21, 2008.
Mr Holmes, now 19, had been with the company for seven months as a trainee and was helping a colleague steady the massive metal plate on to the truck's forks, when the extension slipped.
He spent four weeks with his leg in plaster and was awarded 3,700 in a separate personal injury claim.
At Fareham Magistrates' Court Michael Veal, prosecuting for the Health and Safety Executive, said: 'Measures that could have been taken were obviously simple and inexpensive.
'The makeshift extension had been in use for some time before the accident so it seems more luck than judgment that an accident didn't occur earlier.'
David Thompson, defending, said his client had 20 years of experience driving forklifts without incident and had shown 'great remorse' for the his part in the accident.
He also said the company - which has since gone out of business - had provided inadequate training.
Baillie, of New Milton, was fined 2,500, and ordered to pay 1,000 costs, plus 15 to the victim.
Chairman of the bench, James Chestnutt, said: 'This is a serious offence, indicated by the size of the fine available to the court, and the incident itself.'
Baillie admitted one count of failing to discharge his duty under the Health and Safety Act.
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Wednesday 08 February 2012
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