Employer Cited in Fatal Forklift Accident

The U.S. Department of Labor has cited a lumber manufacturer for ignoring safety precautions following the death of an employee. 

According to the investigation, a woman was walking across the Sunbelt Forest Products lumber shipping yard in Athens, Alabama in November 2021 when she was struck by a forklift. 

She eventually died of her injuries.

OSHA proposed $53,866 in penalties. 

OSHA investigators said the company exposed workers to struck-by hazards when it allowed employees to walk in an area where forklift drivers could not see them. 

Investigators said the company also failed to distinguish and mark shipping department travel aisles. 

Forklift incidents that result in injury are common across the country.

According to the National Safety Council, 78-work related deaths in 2020 involved forklifts, and more than 7,000 nonfatal injuries were reported that caused people to need time away from work.