A lift truck driver can be a victim as well as an instigator of an injury in this kind of scenario which individually have unique aspects. The most common type of lift truck accident is said to be a rollover or tip over.
The outcome of a lift truck crash can result in moderate to serious injuries. In extreme or catastrophic incidents, tip-over accidents in one of these trucks can crush the operator and possibly anyone nearby, most likely in a setting such as a factory, construction site, retail store, or any other location. Based on the latest data that it has published, the U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics reports that 614 workers died in forklift accidents in the 2011-2017 time frame and that in just 2017 alone, forklifts were involved in 9,050 non-fatal workplace injuries or illnesses.
If you or a family member have suffered an injury in a forklift accident, contact a New York City Truck Accident Lawyer who will fight for your rights and help to be financially compensated by those who are at fault.
An industrial-type setting can, of course, be inherently dangerous especially if or when safety protocols are ignored.
Apart from rollover or tip-over accidents, which can be the result of uneven ground surfaces and terrain conditions in addition to other causes, lift truck mishaps frequently include, but are not limited to the following.
Toxic emissions emanating from a forklift is also a possibility. Irrespective of the cause of the accident, you may be able to recover damages from one or multiple parties depending on the facts of your particular case. Multi-party litigation is inherently complex and requires a comprehensive knowledge of civil procedure, so it’s best to retain an experienced attorney.
Lift truck or forklift accidents types can be multifactorial, with operator error playing a significant, but not exclusive, role.
The Center for Disease Control’s (CDC) National Institute for Occupational Safety and Health (NIOSH) specifically cautions that “workers who operate or work near forklifts may be struck or crushed by the machine or the load being handled.”
Some of the types or causes of a fork truck accident can include the following:
The potential causes of truck accidents are outlined above with the addition of the possibility of a defectively manufactured truck, which could potentially allow an injured party to bring a claim under product liability.
Pedestrian inattention may also be a factor. In certain situations it is possible that fault could be shared to some extent.
That being said, various measures can be taken to potentially prevent these incidents from occurring.
Among them include the following:
The NIOSH agency has promulgated 20 recommendations for forklift drivers to protect themselves, and by extension, those around them.
Among these recommendations include notifying the worker’s supervisor of any problems with the forklift that popped up during a shift, and exercising extreme caution in areas such as ramps or grades.
These recommendations also advise that you “Do not jump from an overturning, sit-down type forklift. Stay with the truck, holding on firmly and leaning in the opposite direction of the overturn,” and “exit from a stand-up type forklift with rear-entry access by stepping backward if a lateral tip over occurs.”
If you’ve been injured in a truck accident, you may be eligible for workers’ compensation benefits if you are an employee and were on the clock when the accident occurred. You may have other forms of legal recourse, too, depending upon the circumstances.
For pedestrians and others, a truck accident lawsuit against whoever is deemed responsible for what happened is certainly not out of the question absent a fair insurance settlement.
If you need comprehensive assistance in unraveling the facts and the law as far as receiving the financial compensation that you deserve, please contact the eminently experienced personal injury attorneys at Spektor & Associates, P.C., to schedule a free case consultation.
