A coronial inquest into the tragic death of a 24-year-old man in a forklift accident at St Leonards began in the Launceston Magistrates Court.

Joshua John Dingan was killed when the forklift he was operating fell on its side and crushed him on November 7, 2013.

Mr Dingan was unloading sheet metal from a truck at his workplace Roadside Products when the accident occurred. Coroner Robert Webster heard from several witnesses.

Alan Baker, a witness from a next door business, said that a couple of things struck him when he took a forklift to Roadside Products.

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He said that the slope on which the forklift was attempting to unload a truck was "fairly steep". He was asked whether he saw any sheet metal and whether he had any observations.

"I remember thinking I did not see a pallet and I thought that was stupid," Mr Baker said.

The inquest heard that metal-on-metal tynes of a forklift trying to lift metal products were inherently dangerous because of a lack of grip.

Mr Robert Taylor appeared on behalf of former directors of Roadside Products Ralph Norton and Darren Randall.

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Constable Joshua Hayes said that the slope the forklift was operating on was greater than he would have expected a forklift to operate on.

He said from his observation it was evident that Mr Dingjan was not wearing a seat belt.

The Searoad truck driver Michael Jones said he did not see the accident because he was on the other side of the truck.

Searoad operations manager Bruce Webb said that once a person qualified for a forklift licence they could be renewed every five years without having to prove competency.

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"It's a central tenet of competency that you don't use a forklift other than on a flat surface," Mr Taylor asked.

He told coroner Robert Webster that he had a forklift licence.

The inquest heard that the one side of the forklift was considerably lower than the other because of the slope of the Roadside Products driveway and the position where the truck was parked.

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Each pack of sheet metal weighed 1.9 tonnes.

Mr Webb said that if he had been the driver he would have told Roadside Products staff it was a dangerous place to unload.

The inquest continues on Tuesday.

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I am the Supreme and Magistrates Court reporter for the Examiner for the past 18 months. My journalism career has clicked over 30 years and encompasses four different spells at Tasmanian newspapers.

I am the Supreme and Magistrates Court reporter for the Examiner for the past 18 months. My journalism career has clicked over 30 years and encompasses four different spells at Tasmanian newspapers.

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