Scottish Court of Session Decisions

"It was the normal practice of the defenders' employees to drive low loaders carrying such machinery into the garage, where a crane was situated and use the crane to lift the machinery off the low loader. On the said date the defenders were in the process or moving garage premises and there was no crane available to lift the fork lift truck from the low loader. A fellow employee Mr James Szaranek had been placed in charge of the off loading of the fork lift truck. He instructed the pursuer to off load the fork lift using another clamp truck. The clamp truck was designed for moving bales of waste paper which it was designed to lift between two clamps with which it was fitted at the front. The pursuer was instructed to drive the clamp truck to be used. The vehicle used by the pursuer had no rear lights on it. The pursuer positioned the clamp truck driven by him beside the low loader. Mr Szaranek attached a sling between the forks of a fork lift and the clamps of the clamp truck. He instructed the pursuer to operate the mechanism to open up the clamps and lift the fork lift off the back of the low loader. He then instructed the pursuer to start reversing his truck to tow the other vehicle off the low loader. In order to do so the pursuer required to reverse at an angle. A trench had earlier been dug by fellow employees in the area where the pursuer had to reverse into. Barriers were supposed to have been erected around the trench area, but this had not been done. The ditch had simply been left covered with metal plates. The pursuer had no one to guide him as he reversed. It was very dark. The pursuer was instructed to reverse his vehicle onto the metal plates by Mr Szaranek. As he did so the fork lift came off the low loader at some speed. Although Mr Szaranek was sitting in the front of the fork lift truck he was unable to steer it because its four wheels upon which the brakes were fitted were lifted off the ground in the course of the manoeuvre. The clamp truck took the full weight of the fork lift truck on its front with the result that it was impossible for the pursuer to steer the clamp truck adequately because the weight was not adequately counterbalanced and the front wheels of the clamp truck would not turn. The back offside rear wheel of his vehicle caught on the edge of the ditch and the metal plates causing the clamp truck to fall into the ditch onto its side. The pursuer thereby sustained the loss, injury and damage hereinafter condescended upon."

"Explained and averred that two metal plates were placed over a track running between the defenders' garages. Each plate was 2.4 metres long and 1.2 metres wide. They were laid end to end, thus covering the track to a length of 4.8 metres. The track was protected with cones and tape on either side of the metal plates. The pursuer was operating Hyster Truck 16, which is 1.7 metres wide. The said truck is fitted with two lights to the front and one to the rear. Prior to the pursuer commencing to reverse the Hyster 16 truck, the said Mr Szaranek ensured it was pointing towards the middle of the plates."

"He was driving his fork lift truck and was reversing at the time of the accident. It was dark. He had his door open to hear a colleague shouting directions. Unfortunately, his colleague was unaware that there was a hole and the fork lift truck tipped into the hole. With the force of the truck tipping, the door slammed closed and showered him with glass. He therefore put his hand up to protect his face. He felt immediate pain in his left calf radiating to his ankle."

"Mr Kelly says that on 20 January 1999 he was on the night-shift and was driving a fork-lift attempting to pull another fork-lift truck off the back of a low loader when he was involved in an accident. He says that the back wheels of his fork-lift went into a gulley causing the fork-lift to turn over onto its roof. His left leg jammed between the pedals and he was suspended for a period before becoming free and falling on top of his head and the back of his neck. He says that he was not knocked unconscious and was able to climb out of the cab of the fork-lift".

"The back off-side rear wheel of his vehicle caught on the edge on the ditch and the metal plates causing the clamp truck to fall into the ditch onto its side."

(1) Solatium of £10,000, two-thirds of which is attributable to the past;

(2) Interest at one-half the judicial rate on past solatium from the date of the accident until the date of decree;

(3) Wage loss to 15 February 1999 of £596.82;

(4) Interest at the full judicial rate on £596.82 from 15 February 1999 until the date of decree;

(5) Wage loss from 16 December 1999 to date at the rate of £2,450 per annum;

(6) Interest at one-half the judicial rate on the figure in (5) above from 16 December 1999 until the date of decree; and

(7) Future wage loss calculated on a multiplicand of £2,450 and a multiplier of 11.56, subject to any necessary adjustment of the multiplier to take account of the passage of time since it was agreed.