Forklift Collapse Accident Kills Worker
On August 31, a worker was crushed to death when a forklift collapsed while he was working on a vehicle. This article on NorthJersey.com reported that his coworker injured himself when he tried to help him.
Forklift injuries can be severe or fatal as the trucks are extremely heavy and powerful vehicles. The National Institute for Occupational Safety and Health (NIOSH) reported that forklifts strike pedestrians every day, resulting in 100 deaths and over 20,000 injuries annually in the United States.
The NIOSH report also showed that someone in the U.S. is killed in a forklift related accident approximately every 3 days. A total of 94,750 injuries related to forklift accidents are reported annually. Workers crushed by forklifts account for about 16% of all forklift incidents.
The family of the worker who died in this tragic forklift accident would be well advised to contact an experienced workers’ compensation attorney who can carefully examine the incident to identify any negligence or wrongdoing. If a contractor, a sub-contractor, or even the manufacturer of a defective product were responsible for the accident, they could be held liable. In addition to filing third party lawsuits against the responsible parties that are not the employer, the employers’ insurer needs to pay a workers’ Pennsylvania workers compensation benefits.
If you or a loved one has been injured in a forklift accident, the Philly workers’ compensation lawyers at Cherry, Fieger, & Marciano can help you get the monetary compensation that is owed to you.
