Forklift Mishap Kills Nearby Worker

A storage rack was moved close to the welder’s workshop and placed on its side for repair. (The sideways placement was for ease of repair and to avoid blocking traffic.) The victim was standing between the storage rack and the workshop container when a roustabout retrieved some gas cylinders using a forklift. The cylinders were near the storage rack. The forklift bumped the rack, which toppled over, striking the victim in the abdomen and trapping his foot beneath its 3.8 tons. He died from internal hemorrhage.

Several things contributed to this incident. The storage rack was unsecured, the forklift operator had limited visibility and the victim lacked safety awareness; he did not recognize the danger of the rack being in a vertical position.