A director of a Ballarat company is facing criminal charges after he allegedly hit an employee with a forklift, causing him to be hospitalised.
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Worksafe charged Frederick George Coulter with failure to reduce the risk of collision of the forklift with pedestrians.
His company Enviroflame Firelogs is charged with failing to have a traffic management system to reduce the risk to pedestrians.
The Ballarat Magistrates' Court heard on Friday the employee was struck by the forklift allegedly driven by Coulter in July 2019.
WorkSafe prosecutor Adrian Trotman said the employee was injured and hospitalised.
Coulter's defence lawyer Kim Packer said the fact her client was driving the forklift and hit the employee was generally admitted.
She asked the court for an adjournment to discuss the circumstances surrounding the 'unfortunate accident' with Worksafe in an attempt to have the charges dropped.
Ms Packer said Coulter was in the process of setting up his Delacombe factory and had been talking to WorkSafe to put safety systems in place when the accident happened.
"Mr Coulter instructs it was an unfortunate accident because the employee should not have had to go behind the forklift at the time," she said.
Ms Packer said Coulter could not appear at court on Friday because he was unwell in hospital.
The case was adjourned for a contest mention in March.
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Rochelle Kirkham
Rochelle covers court and has a particular interest in social issues including homelessness, food security and family violence.
Rochelle covers court and has a particular interest in social issues including homelessness, food security and family violence.
