Incident date: 2024-09-11
NAICS industry code: 311119

An employee was operating a forklift when the lift stopped working in the middle of the driveway that leads from the receiving area to the office. The employee used a skid loader and a towing strap to pull the inoperable forklift. The strap broke causing the forklift to start rolling downhill (approximately a 10% incline). The forklift rolled approximately 30' before one of the forks caught the railroad track, causing it to turn toward the injured employee who was standing in that area. Unable to get out of the forklift's path, the injured employee grabbed the forklift mast and started running backward holding onto the lift. The lift traveled approximately 12' with the employee holding onto it before it rolled down an embankment (approximately 28" deep), trapping the injured employee between the lift and the bank. The employee was hospitalized with a fractured pelvis.

Hazard classification:
code_event: title: Struck by rolling, sliding, or shifting objects non-running
code_source: title: Forklift, order picker, platform truck powered
code_nature: title: Fractures
code_body: title: Pelvis
severity: moderate