EXPERTS from JCB will be called to give evidence at the inquest into the death of a forklift truck driver who died after an incident at work.

Stephen Pritchard, 48, was coming to the end of his shift at Martin Industries on Llay Industrial Estate, near Wrexham, on February 26, 2020, when the tragedy occurred.

At a pre-inquest hearing in Ruthin John Gittins, senior coroner for North Wales East and Central, said it appeared that Mr Pritchard, of Pentre Street, Llay, had gone to the assistance of a lorry driver who was trying to secure his load.

Mr Pritchard pulled up alongside the lorry in his forklift truck and stood up to gain some height, but when his vehicle moved forward he fell to the ground.

It was initially thought he may have suffered a cardiac event but after his death in the Maelor Hospital Home Office pathologist Dr Bryan Rogers gave a provisional cause of death as crush injuries to the chest.

The incident was investigated by the Health and Safety Executive whose report revealed that the forklift truck was fitted with a system which meant that the engine stalled when the driver got  up out of his seat.

But barrister Stephen Fisher, for Mr Pritchard’s family, told the hearing that JCB employees had given conflicting statements on what was supposed to happen.

One of them, said Mr Fisher, has claimed it was “perfectly normal” for a forklift to move forward several metres.

Mr Gittins commented: “I also have questionmarks against JCB and further enquiries need to be made to clarify how this should operate.”

Among other witnesses to be called is another Marlin employee Lee Wood-Jones, who usually drove the forklift truck and who had mentioned that he had been involved in an earlier incident while trying to get out of the cab.

The full inquest, which will be held before a jury, is expected to be held before the end of the year and to last three days.