Accident Report Detail

Accident Summary Nr: 131080.015 - Employee is killed when overloaded forklift falls off bridge

Accident Summary Nr: 131080.015 -- Report ID: 0729300 -- Event Date: 11/10/2020
Inspection Nr	Date Opened	SIC	NAICS	Establishment Name
1502401.015	11/10/2020		238320	Thomas Industrial Coatings, Inc.

Abstract: At 8:00 a.m. on November 10, 2020, Employee #1 and coworkers were engaged in a bridge renovation. Employee #1 was operating a Genie GTH-636 Telehandler Forklift with a Dallas Star Industries Lift and Tow Model 1390B attachment. It was being used to lift 50 steel sheets of Safe Span Bridge Platform System decking. With the additional weight of the Lift and Tow attachment and attaching hardware in four 5-gallon buckets, the forklift was lifting a total weight of 3,195 pounds. The materials were being lifted from under the bridge up onto the road deck. The load initially rose and then suddenly fell, jolting the Safe Span materials, which slid off the side and fell to the ground. The forklift with Employee #1 at the controls was pulled off the bridge and also fell, a fall height of 80 feet. Employee #1 sustained blunt force traumatic injuries and was killed. The subsequent investigation determined that the forklift, a rental, was being operated with a load that exceeded the load chart.

Keywords: Blunt force trauma, Bridge, Bridge Deck, Construction, Decking Panel, Equipment Operator, Fall, Fall Protection, Falling Object, Forklift, Lift operator , Maintenance, Material Handling, Metal Decking, Overloaded, Powered Industrial Vehicle, Repair, Scaffolding, Unstable Load

Accident Details
End Use		Project Type		Project Cost	Stories	Non-building Height	Fatality
Bridge		Maintenance or repair				80	X

Employee Details
Employee #	Inspection Nr	Age	Sex	Degree of Injury	Nature of Injury	Construction
1	1502401.015	59	M	Fatality		Distance of Fall: 80 feet Worker Height Above Ground/Floor: 80 feet Cause: Installation Of Decking-Hoisting Bundles Fatality Cause:

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