![\"Emergency](\"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/07\/a28d600c5cdb4251ff90351de25d6e62.jpeg\")
<\/p>\nNorthern Territory WorkSafe has charged Woolworths with a series of negligence offences after a forklift driver allegedly crashed into a motorcycle on a public road in the centre of Katherine, just outside the supermarket’s loading dock.<\/p>\n
A spokesperson for the NT workplace safety regulator said in a statement the motorcyclist was taken to hospital and suffered “serious injuries” as a result of the crash in the town, located 300 kilometres south of Darwin, in July last year.<\/p>\n
The spokesperson said the Woolworths employee had attempted to drive the forklift “across a public road” behind the shop as a delivery truck was entering the loading dock.<\/p>\n
Images captured by the ABC at the time show a red motorcycle on its side in the centre of the street, with a forklift parked nearby.<\/p>\n
Paramedics were later seen putting the rider into the back of an ambulance on a stretcher.<\/p>\n
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An NT WorkSafe spokesperson says the motorbike rider was taken to hospital with “serious injuries” after the crash in July 2025. (ABC News: James Elton)<\/p>\n
Woolworths is facing a total of four charges, including failing in a primary duty of care and failing in a duty involving management or control of a workplace, which combined carry a maximum penalty of $4.5 million.<\/p>\n
Under the NT Work Health and Safety Act, businesses have a duty to make sure “other persons”, beyond their own workers, are not unreasonably put at risk through their operations.<\/p>\n
The Act also requires companies to ensure the “safe use, handling and storage” of machinery.<\/p>\n