Forklift accident leads to third worker death in Mass. area in one week

The OSHA website states that every year, tens of thousands of injuries related to forklifts occur in US workplaces. Many employees are injured when lift trucks are inadvertently driven off loading docks, lifts fall between docks and an unsecured trailer, they are struck by a lift truck, or when they fall while on elevated pallets and tines.

One recent accident reminds us what tragic consequences can occur due to lack of safety training regarding these machines. On August 31, a 51-year-old Stoughton man was killed in a work-related accident after he fell off a forklift and struck his head inside the Super-Dog Pet Food Co. warehouse in Taunton, Mass. Alan Forsyth was operating a stand-up forklift inside the Super-Dog Pet Food Co. warehouse when somehow it slammed into one of the building’s steel supporting beams and threw him to the concrete floor. The trauma to his head led his death.

The death of Alan Forsyth comes one year after the company, Super-Dog Pet Food Co., received eight OSHA violations. Three of these were violations concerning forklifts. “While it is always a tragedy to hear of a worker death, it is particularly troubling when an employer has already been warned that his practices are putting workers at grave risk,” said Bob Burns, a health and safety trainer at MassCOSH, the Massachusetts Coalition for Occupational Safety and Health. “Forklifts are potentially dangerous, heavy machinery. It is imperative that workers operating forklifts be afforded the proper training and available safety equipment, and that all forklifts be inspected for safety defects on a daily use basis.”

This is the third worker death for the Massachusetts area. Aug. 31’s tragedy in Taunton came just a couple of hours after the commonwealth’s second work zone fatality in a week. That same morning, Attleboro water department employee Jeffrey Burgess died after being struck by a van that hit Burgess while he was repairing a break in the water main. One week earlier, 34-year-old police officer Michael Davey was killed in Weymouth while directing traffic at a utility site.

Sources:
www.osha.gov
Smith, Sandy. "In One Week, Three Workplace Deaths in Massachusetts." EHS Today. Web. 3 Sept. 2009.
Winokoor, Charles. "Worker dies after fall in Taunton warehouse." Wicked Local Taunton. 31 Aug. 2009. Web. 3 Sept. 2009. www.wickedlocal.com