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Posted By Karen L Duggan
A recent incident where the floor of an incoming goods vehicle proved seriously unsafe for access to unload has raised a query.
a) the vehicles are not ours b) the hauliers are not contracted to us but to our suppliers c) we shall be revising safe working procedures to ensure inspection of the flooring is part of the assessment of the safety of the load when it arrives....but in the event of an incident does liability lie with both us and the haulier? Does the supplier have any liability? (Both the supplier and the hauliers are European)
Apologies if this seems simple to you all - just want to be sure before steps are taken to address the matter with the suppliers!
Any help gratefully received.
Karen
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Posted By Martin Taylor
Karen - I would suggest that liability can only be held by yourselves if you ignore clear defects on incoming vehicles - I would suggest a basic inspecation (so far as reasonably practicable) and appropriate action would suffice to defer liability to others - probably the haulier.
Of course you need to think about the potential outcome - serious injury to one of your employee may put any question of liability onto the back burner when managing the immediate aftermath and personal trauma.
Out of curiosity can you provide more details on the concern so I can ask our warehouse to review their practices
ta
Martin
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Posted By Mark Talbot
It could also be a function of timing ...
If the load falls before / during inspection, haulier probably liable. Supplier possibly liable for loading the stuff onto an unsafe storage/transportation.
If your people have begun to unload without an initial visual inspection, then probably all three companies would be vulnerable.
In a good unloading process, a fall of goods would not injure anyone because they would be excluded from the area, and driver protected by a safety cage on the forklift.
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Posted By Mark Talbot
Having re-read the initial message, maybe you are refering to a person walking onto/into the transportation.
Same general idea applies though. If they start the process your company becomes jointly liable, probably.
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Rank: Guest
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Posted By Karen L Duggan
Thanks all.
Visual inspections are made prior to unloading but the floor of the vehicle is covered by anti-slip rubber flooring so spotting damage is nigh impossible. The wooden planking underneath gave way causing the lift truck to lurch severely into the 'hole'. Potential severity? Could have been very serious for the driver of the lift truck. Other persons are excluded from the area anyway.
I want to be sure of my facts as the best control would be to remove the need for vehicular access onto the incoming trailer altogether. (Each item lifted weighs about 750kg-1T)
So my issue is with the state of the flooring on the incoming lorry. This is the responsibility of the haulier but as our contract is with the supplier, then he becomes vicariously responsible too?
Karen
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