Fatal consequences of father’s 3ft fall

An inquest heard how a warehouse worker from Middleton shattered his shin bone in a 3ft fall while attempting to pull a heavy flat pack from a storage shelf above his head.

Roy Ford, 55, a father of two, suffered a pulmonary embolism, caused by deep vein thrombosis (DVT) in November, 2009, — a month after the accident at Express Gifts.

Mr Ford, who worked at the Greengate site since 2003, collapsed and died while recovering at his brother’s house in Hollin.

Pathologist Richard Byers described how a blood clot which could have been caused by the compression of the cast, which covered the majority of his leg, fatally moved from Mr Ford’s leg to his lungs.

A jury at Oldham Magistrates Court heard how Mr Ford did not have the safety guard in place on his lift truck.

After attempting to pick a 19kg dinner set flat pack “on his tiptoes”, the item snagged on brown tape and shrink wrap, causing Mr Ford to fall off the machine’s platform.

Described as a “larger than life character” by his family, the Dublin-born man was kept in Royal Oldham Hospital for more than a week following an operation on his injured leg.

Mr Ford expressed safety concerns in an interview days later that “problems” had been identified to his section manager on more than one occasion.

The Chadderton business revealed to the jury that it has brought in changes following the fall.

Gary Sutton, Express Gifts senior manager, said: “If an item was too heavy for an employee then they could go to their section manager and we would relocate the item immediately.

“Following the accident we have enforced a number of changes, including our risk assessment being reviewed and that nothing more than 10kg would be higher than the lower level.”

Red and white tape has now been put on the safety arms of the machines to ensure employees have the guard in a raised position.

Proceeding