Accident Report Detail
Accident Summary Nr: 200551646 - Employee killed when forklift overturns
Inspection Nr | Date Opened | SIC | NAICS | Establishment Name |
---|---|---|---|---|
303082994 | 11/22/2000 | 2621 | 0 | Industrial Piping & Mechanical, Inc. |
Abstract: At 10:45 a.m. on November 22, 2000, Employee #1 and two coworkers were on the seventh floor of the powerhouse at the mill, working on the concrete floors and applying a chemical-resistant coating to them. As they worked, they carried the trash and debris down to ground level and put it into a dumpster. Shortly before the accident, all three workers were on ground floor. Employee #1 went to get a Clark forklift, model GPX300, serial #CRX2302CE-0033-9275FB, to move the dumpster. The foreman was standing some distance away talking to the job superintendent. Employee #1 was driving the forklift toward the dumpster when he turned in such a manner that the rear wheels on the right side of the vehicle encountered a 15 degree slope surrounding a drain. The rear wheels did not have sufficient traction and the forklift flipped onto its right side. Employee #1 attempted to jump clear of the machine but became pinned across the neck and shoulder by the overhead guard. He sustained crushing injuries and was killed. The forklift did have a seat belt, but it was not clear if Employee #1 was wearing it at the time of the accident. Forklift training was included in the employer's general safety policy, and it consisted of written material that the employee read and initialed in the presence of the company secretary. This was kept in the employee's personnel file. There was no indication of more formalized forklift training with practice on an actual machine, and employees who operated forklifts were not necessarily certified. The training program should have been updated to include the requirements of the Standard, including wearing the seat belt and, in the case of a roll-over, trying to stay with the machine instead of attempting to jump clear. Employee #1 had been hired by the company as a millwright on November 8, 2000, but he had operated forklifts in prior jobs.
Employee # | Inspection Nr | Age | Sex | Degree of Injury | Nature of Injury | Occupation |
---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
1 | 303082994 | Fatality | Fracture | Occupation not reported |