NI inquest hears of faulty forklift

On the second day of an inquest into the death of a man in Northern Ireland, the court has heard that the forklift truck that claimed the 59-year-old's life had already been reported to a supervisor as being faulty.

According to the Belfast Telegraph, several witnesses told the Armagh hearing that the jerking movements made by the forklift involved in the accident that killed Robert "Bobby" Doyle, had been reported to the supervisor responsible for the shift before the fatal incident.

Mr Doyle died on June 16th 1999 after the forklift he was driving jerked forwards and pinned him up against a printing machine at the Smurfit Plant in Lurgan.

Two colleagues testified that they had reported the faults in the machinery both on the day and six months before the tragedy occurred.

Raymond Loughran told the jury of five men and four women that six months before the accident, he had reported to his shift manager that he had noticed that the forklift had "malfunctions" and that it "jerked forward".

Derek Boyd stated that he had advised Mr Doyle to change operating procedures on the day of the accident, as, being an electrician, he had noticed the machinery was faulty.

However, Stephen Ritchie, barrister for the NI Health and Safety Executive, suggested that human error may have been to blame for the accident as, when questioned, Mr Boyd admitted that no other of his colleagues had experienced problems with the forklift.

Solicitors across Northern Ireland may have to wait a while before an outcome is finally decided, but in the meantime, the inquest continues.

Contact us for legal advice
 

News Categories