What Causes Forklift Injuries?
Most injuries and deaths linked to forklifts occur during tip-over accidents. Many of these incidents are caused by driver error: speeding, driving on uneven or slick surfaces, etc. However, forklifts often tip over due to poor design and manufacturing defects.
Other forklift accidents occur when workers are crushed by the machines. In some cases, the driver jumps off the forklift; in others, innocent employees or bystanders get run over or crushed.
Defective Forklift Designs
Many forklift accidents are caused by defective design, which may include:
- Failure of the manufacturer to install a vertical safety post
- Failure to install a compartment door
- Failure to install a self latching door
- Failure to provide operator restraints
- Failure to install a rear door
- Failure to provide an adequate warning as to the risks of the forklift or operation of the forklift
- Defectively designing the forklift such that it is susceptible to tipping
Many defectively designed forklifts that fail the 2 major industry tests, the weight load test (longitudinal stability test) and the “crush test,” (which determines the amount of deflection into the area surrounding the operator) are still placed into the marketplace.
$3.25 Million Verdict in Forklift Injury Lawsuit
A delivery truck helper was distributing beverages to a supermarket when he was hit by a forklift operated by an employee at the market. As a result of the accident, he sustained multiple fractures and lumbar spinal injuries requiring surgery. The case was tried before a jury in the Bronx, New York, and he was awarded $3,258,000 in damages.
Do I Have a Forklift Accident Class Action Lawsuit?
The Class Action Litigation Group at our law firm is an experienced team of trial lawyers that focus on the representation of plaintiffs in Forklift Accident Lawsuits. We are handling individual litigation nationwide and currently accepting new injury and death cases in all 50 states.
If you or a loved one was injured in a forklift accident, you should contact our law firm immediately. You may be entitled to a settlement by filing a suit and we can help.