19.11.2021

UK lift fatality

Earlier this month an employee of Loxam’s UK operation Nationwide Platforms died in an incident at the company’s Liskeard depot in Cornwall.

No details of the incident have been disclosed, although we understand that it was the result of crush incident with an aerial work platform. However, we should say that this has not been officially confirmed.

The company has issued the following statement from chief operating officer Paul Rankin. “We are deeply saddened by the loss on Thursday 4th November 2021 of a valued member of our Liskeard depot team. We are working closely with the relevant authorities to support a thorough investigation of the circumstances. Our thoughts are with the family, and we are offering support to all our staff affected by this incident, especially members of the Liskeard team."

We will of course update this item when we learn more. In the meantime, we would ask that anyone making a comment take into consideration that this incident is still at the investigation stage, and that it is early days for both family and work colleagues.

UPDATE

The incident did turn out to be a crush incident, but not quite as expected. It turns out the one of the local delivery drivers, Lee Benham, 45, was loading a 40ft slab electric scissor lift onto he truck using the upper cpontrols from the ground. It seems that as he went to operate the drive function with the cable tethered controller he moved the joystick in the wrong direction, causing the machine to move forward and crush him against another machine. A truck driver working close by came over to speak to him, only to find him trapped.. He backed the lift off, but quickly realised that the situation was serious. He called the emergency services and sadly Benham was declared dead at the hopsital, from blunt crush injuries.