Unloading hazard: delivery driver injured in lorry fall

A transport company has been fined £255,000 after a worker fell from a lorry and fractured his skull.

The man, who was working as a delivery driver, was responsible for delivering glass to a customer when the accident occurred.  No forklift truck was available, which resulted in the worker climbing onto the trailer of the lorry and passing items to another worker on the ground. It was during this procedure that the operative fell from the lorry trailer and suffered injuries.

Whilst the need for an operative to manually unload items from a vehicle trailer is newsworthy in the logistics industry, members of the landscape industry, particularly those involved in unloading materials or manoeuvring large items such as mature trees, may often face this scenario.   

Earlier this year the Association was contacted by a supplier member regarding the safe loading and unloading of items from commercial vehicles of all sizes, in particular large items such as trees and potted plants from lorry trailers.  

A literature review by the Association revealed guidance for unloading items from commercial vehicles is focusses mainly on industries with goods that are palletised, and regularly delivered to the same destination. This does not reflect the landscape industry. 

Following consultation with members, the Association has started working on a project to identify best practices for loading and unloading items safely from the commercial trailer that is ‘on-site’.  Whilst some guidance exists which may be interpreted by members of the landscape industry, the Association will develop this further to ensure information exists for scenarios likely to be encountered by landscape and nursery operatives.