Loading dock worker crushed between forklift and flatbed truck - Iowa.
Source
NIOSH 1996 Jan; :1-3
Abstract
A 57 year old warehouse worker for a gypsum company was helping to load drywall onto a flatbed truck when a forklift driven by a co-worker suddenly lurched forward pinning him against the truck frame. The victim was standing in a narrow space between the forklift and the flat-bed semi-trailer positioning spacer strips of drywall on the truck bed. The co-worker had a large load of drywall on the forklift and was in process of leveling the load when the forklift went into gear and lurched forward. Normally the parking brake is set whenever the driver leaves the forklift, thus disengaging the transmission and preventing forward or reverse movement of the forklift. The driver had just dismounted the forklift to help the victim, then mounted it again to adjust the load. He must have immediately released the parking brake and had insufficient pressure on the service brake to disengage the transmission. After the accident the driver immediately backed away from the flatbed truck, and the victim fell to the ground. CPR was begun immediately and continued by emergency personnel, but was unsuccessful. The victim was rushed immediately to the hospital, but all efforts to revive him failed. Recommendations following our investigation were as follows: 1. Employers should establish safe loading procedures with powered industrial forklifts in accordance with regulations, 29 CFR 1910.178 (m). 2. Employers should provide adequate training for workers to follow safe practices when operating a forklift. 3. Employees should follow safe working procedures when operating an industrial forklift.
Keywords
Region-7; Accident-analysis; Accident-prevention; Accidents; Injuries; Injury-prevention; Traumatic-injuries; Work-operations; Work-analysis; Work-areas; Work-performance; Work-practices; Safety-education; Safety-equipment; Safety-measures; Safety-monitoring; Protective-measures; Training; Equipment-operators; Equipment-reliability; Warehousing
Document Type
Field Studies; Fatality Assessment and Control Evaluation
Funding Type
Cooperative Agreement
NTIS Accession No.
PB2009-106726
Identifying No.
FACE-95IA019; Cooperative-Agreement-Number-U60-CCU-708674
Source Name
National Institute for Occupational Safety and Health
Performing Organization
Iowa Department of Public Health
