HSE does not publish a separate national count of forklift deaths or injuries. What it does say, in both its lift truck pages and the L117 code, is that lift trucks "are involved in about a quarter of all workplace transport accidents".
The wider workplace transport figures show why that matters. In HSE's figures for 2020/21 to 2024/25, being struck by a moving vehicle caused 16% of worker deaths in Great Britain, an average of 21 a year. In 2025/26 it was the second most common cause of death at work, with 24 deaths (provisional). Forklifts are among the vehicles in those figures, alongside lorries, vans and others. Our workplace transport statistics set out HSE's numbers in full.
L117 also notes the cost when nobody is hurt: "Even when an incident does not cause injury, it can still mean costly damage to lift trucks, buildings, fittings and goods."
L117 lists the hazards a forklift risk assessment should consider: "striking pedestrians, other vehicles and structures; loss of stability; falling loads; falling from the carrier if someone is being lifted; or being crushed". In everyday terms:
| Kind of accident | What it looks like |
|---|---|
| Striking people on foot | A truck reversing or turning out of an aisle hits someone walking |
| Overturning (loss of stability) | The truck tips over on a slope, a turn, uneven ground or with a raised load |
| Falling loads | Part of a load falls from the forks or racking onto someone nearby |
| Falls from the forks | Someone is lifted on the forks or a pallet and falls |
| Crushing | Someone is trapped between the truck and a wall, racking or another vehicle |
| Collisions | The truck hits another vehicle, racking or a building |
Overturning is especially dangerous for the driver. L117 says that since 2002, counterbalanced and some other trucks "must be fitted with an operator restraining system (for example a seat belt)", and "Where restraining systems are fitted they should be used."
HSE's short answer: accidents involving lift trucks "are often due to poor supervision and a lack of training". Behind that, the same conditions come up again and again:
HSE gives an example on its workplace transport pages. A forklift was being driven across a poorly lit yard with no marked traffic lanes when a large truck reversed into it. The forklift tipped onto its side, and the operator, who was not wearing a seat belt, was trapped underneath and killed. HSE's list of what would have helped: better lighting, designated traffic lanes, reversing alarms that work effectively, and wearing a seat belt.
Most forklift accidents have more than one cause. Fix the conditions, not only the person.
Start with the strongest controls, using the hierarchy of controls:
Most forklift near misses never reach a report, because nobody was hurt and it felt routine. Yet a forklift that stops a metre from someone is the same event as an accident, minus luck.
HSE suggests reassessing an operator who has "had an accident or near miss". And a forklift that overturns is a RIDDOR dangerous occurrence, reportable even if nobody is hurt. See what is a near miss? and, if one has just happened, forklift near miss: the next 72 hours.
Site: a warehouse with six counterbalance forklifts, a goods-in dock and picking aisles. Prompt: two near misses at the same aisle end in a month.
| What was found | Control chosen | Who, by when |
|---|---|---|
| Striking people on foot: pickers step out of aisle 7 straight into the main forklift route | Barrier and gate at the aisle end | Site manager, 3 weeks |
| Falling loads: pickers walk in aisles while trucks put away at height | No walking in an aisle while a truck is working at height; rule added to induction | Shift supervisors, next week |
| Overturning: trucks use the goods-in ramp as a shortcut with loads raised | Ramp closed to forklifts; marked level route | Site manager, 2 weeks |
| Supervision: two occasional drivers had not been assessed since they started | Assessment by a trained instructor | H&S coordinator, 4 weeks |
The barrier, the ramp closure and the route change the site itself. The rule and the assessment depend on people, so they are checked on the next monthly walk.
HSE does not publish a separate count of forklift accidents. It says lift trucks, which include forklifts, are involved in about a quarter of all workplace transport accidents. Being struck by a moving vehicle, which includes forklifts, caused 24 worker deaths in Great Britain in 2025/26 (provisional).
HSE says accidents involving lift trucks are often due to poor supervision and a lack of training. On site, the most common pattern is people on foot and trucks sharing the same space with nothing but attention keeping them apart.
It depends on the outcome. An injury that is a specified injury, or keeps someone off normal work for more than seven days, must be reported. A forklift overturning is a dangerous occurrence and must be reported even if nobody is hurt. Use our RIDDOR checker.
L117 says counterbalanced trucks and some other types made since 2002 must be fitted with an operator restraining system, such as a seat belt, and that where restraining systems are fitted they should be used.
There is no fixed legal interval. HSE suggests reassessing operators at regular intervals, for example every three to five years, or when new risks arise, and after an accident or near miss.
Our October 2026 prosecutions digest covers two cases where loads fell from forklift forks onto people nearby, and one where route changes put pallet trucks and forklifts on the same routes.
Most forklift accidents are preceded by near misses nobody wrote down. Do you know where yours happen? Safety Mapping: a free two-week trial on one camera.
By Hao Zheng, CEO at RoboK · Last checked November 2026