June 8th is National Forklift Safety Day
Powered industrial trucks, more commonly known as “forklifts,” have been in operation on American work sites for over one hundred years. These lift trucks are an indispensable component of a variety of industries operating here in Indiana and Illinois, as well as the rest of the country, including those involved in retail operations; distribution and logistics; maintenance; and repair. Forklifts are of particular importance in work involved in:
- warehousing / storage;
- grocery wholesalers;
- general freight trucking;
- shipping / maritime; and
- building material and supplies dealers.
Today, forklifts are considered “…integral to virtually every supply chain in every industry.” Read, “Lifting America: The Economic Impact of Industrial Truck Manufacturers, Distributors and Dealers,” written by Michael Reid, Senior Economist and published by Oxford Economics in June 2017 (see page 7).
What is a Forklift?
The core function of a forklift is to lift heavy material loads and move them from place to place. Forklifts on the job site are also vital when it is necessary to raise, lower, or remove objects on floors or pallets or in crates or shipping containers.
Forklifts can be small, intended to transport several thousand pounds at their maximum. At the other end of the continuum, a forklift can handle the lifting and transport of hundreds of thousands of pounds. They can multi-task. Forklifts can be modified through different equipment attachments to handle different types of loads, so the same truck can move something like a load of heavy barrels on one day and a number of heavy goods-filled pallets the next.
Training and expertise in forklift operations varies along with the different varieties of these types of trucks. Smaller forklifts are operated by a worker who rides on the truck itself. Larger forklifts are operated by a worker walking alongside the forklift, requiring a different set of skills.
The Danger of Serious or Deadly Forklift Accidents
The Occupational Safety & Health Administration (“OSHA”) warns that workers face many different risks of bodily injury when operating any kind of forklift. However, different dangers predominate with different types of these industrial trucks. Explains OSHA, “… a sit-down, counterbalanced high-lift rider truck is more likely than a motorized hand truck to be involved in a falling load accident because the sit-down rider truck can lift a load much higher than a hand truck.”
Danger also increases for forklift accidents when they are being operated in certain job sites. Statistics show, for instance, that there is a higher risk of someone walking on the job being hurt in a forklift accident when they are on a retail worksite (like a warehouse). Loading docks are another high-risk area for forklift injuries involving one or more accident victims.
Examples of deadly forklift accidents include the following OSHA Case Studies:
- Worker Struck and Crushed by a Backing Forklift While Cleaning Up an Auto Salvage Yard;
- Order Selector Dies After Jumping 16 Feet from an Elevated Pallet on an Overturning Forklift;
- Press Operator Dies After Forklift Rams Scrap Bin;
- Supply Motorman Killed by Load Falling from a Forklift;
- Seventeen-Year-Old Warehouse Laborer Dies After the Forklift He Was Operating Tipped Over and Crushed Him;
- Seventeen-Year-Old Laborer at Salvage Lumber Operation Crushed by Forklift That Tipped Over; and
- Sixteen-Year-Old Laborer at a Building Supply Center Crushed by Forklift That Tipped Over.
According to the Bureau of Labor Statistics (BLS), forklift accidents on the work site resulted in a higher number of fatal and nonfatal bodily injuries to workers than (1) caught in-between incidents; (2) struck-by accidents; (3) falls to a lower level; or (4) pedestrian vehicular accidents.
These categories are some of the highest dangers facing workers today, and forklift hazards surpass them all.
For more, read:
- Fatal Construction Work Accident: Injuries from Being Struck By Object
- Caught In-Between Hazards: One of OSHA’s “Fatal Four” Deadly Construction Accidents
- Fatal Falls on the Job and the Employers Failure to Protect Worker From Fall Risk
- Rising Danger of Pedestrian Accident Deaths: Hit by Motor Vehicle While Walking.
Federal Safety Regulations for Forklifts
Of course, there are established federal safety standards for the use and operation of forklifts which are designed to keep workers safe on the job site from the known hazards of these industrial trucks. They include:
- The Powered Industrial Trucks Standard, 29 CFR § 1910.178(q)(7), mandating forklifts are to be examined before being placed in service. If they fail inspection, then they are not to be used until they are repaired or replaced.
- Training is also required by federal law for forklift operators, and they are to be periodically evaluated for their ability to operate these types of trucks every three years. See, 29 CFR §1910.178(l)(4).
Forklift Accident Victims in Indiana and Illinois: Need for Thorough Investigation
One of the key issues involving serious and fatal forklift accidents on the work site involves the possibility that the operator of the forklift made some type of mistake which contributed to the incident.
Forklift operators, their co-workers, and others near the industrial truck can all be seriously injured or killed when an operational error results in an overturned forklift, or one that tips over, or drops its load.
In these forklift accidents, it is very important to investigate all the causes and contributing factors involved. Was there an error made by the forklift operator? If so, was this the result of a lack of training, or the failure to have an evaluation of the operator’s abilities? Was there a failure of the truck itself? Was this the result of a lack of repair or maintenance? Was there a product defect or defective design that contributed to the forklift accident?
Employers have a duty to provide their workers with a safe working environment. The failure to make sure that forklift operators are fully and reliably trained to operate the forklift they have been assigned, as well as the failure to make sure the forklift itself is in good working order, can mean the employer is liable for the consequences of the forklift accident and the victims’ injuries. Third parties may be liable in some instances, as well, including repair or maintenance contractors, software manufacturers, and parts suppliers.
National Forklift Safety Day is June 8, 2021, a national worker safety campaign organized by the Industrial Truck Association and DC Velocity. The efforts to reduce the risk of injury to workers in Indiana and Illinois by promoting awareness of forklift accident dangers on the job is commendable.
For more on worker injuries, read:
- Warehouse Accidents: Workers in One of the Deadliest Jobs in Indiana and Illinois
- Workers’ Memorial Week and the 2019 Dirty Dozen List: Workers Beware
- Job Site Injury in Illinois or Indiana: When Accidents at Work Are Not Worker’s Compensation Claims.
If you or a loved one has been seriously injured or killed in an accident involving a forklift or industrial truck, then you may have legal claims available to you under the state laws of Indiana and Illinois. Please be careful out there!
