Operator Dies When Caught Between Mast and Cage of Forklift in a Massachusetts Warehouse

Details

• Corporate Authors:
  Massachusetts Fatality Assessment and Control Evaluation Project (Massachusetts FACE) ; Massachusetts. Department of Public Health
• Description:
  On November 23, 1998, a 40 year old male forktruck operator died of injuries sustained when he was caught between the mast and the cage of his forklift truck. He was placing a load in a narrow row when the load became stuck. The forklift truck operator apparently placed the load on the floor, backed up the truck, tilted the mast forward and stood up between the mast and the cage in an attempt to see over the load. His foot somehow caught on the lever which controlled the mast causing the mast to tilt toward the cage crushing the victim. The victim was found by a co-worker who summoned for help. The MA FACE Program concluded that to prevent similar future occurrences: Employers should examine plant layout to eliminate hazardous conditions. Manufacturers of forklift trucks should consider the following safety improvements: 1. The addition of a guard on the front of the operator's area ; and, 2. Connecting the seat safety switch to the hydraulic load controls in such a way that the levers cannot be operated when the operator is not in the seat. 3. Employers should develop, implement, and enforce a comprehensive safety program that includes, but is not limited to, a thorough hazard analysis and utilization of controls particular to the job.
• Content Notes:
  Publication Date provided by FACE program ; not printed on the report.
• Subjects:
  • Accident Prevention
  • Accidents
  • Accidents, Occupational
  • Occupational Health
  • Personal Protective Equipment
  • Safety
  • Safety Management
  • Workplace
• Keywords:
  • OSHA Region 1
  • Accident-analysis
  • Accident-prevention
  • Accidents
  • Injuries
  • Injury-prevention
  • Traumatic-injuries
  • Work-operations
  • Work-analysis
  • Work-areas
  More +
• FACE - NIOSH and State:
  FACE ; Machine (All) ; Machine - General ; Prevention through Design (PtD)
• Series:
  Fatality Assessment and Control Evaluation Reports (FACE)
• Subseries:
  State
• DOI:
  https://doi.org/10.26616/NIOSHSFACE98MA049
• Document Type:
  Text
• Funding:
  Cooperative Agreement
• Genre:
  Field Study
• Place as Subject:
  Massachusetts ; OSHA Region 1
• CIO:
  National Institute for Occupational Safety and Health (NIOSH)
• Topic:
  Workplace Safety & Health
• Location:
  North America
• Pages in Document:
  1-5
• NIOSHTIC Number:
  nn:20028490
• NTIS Accession Number:
  PB2011-100730
• Citation:
  Morgantown, WV: U.S. Department of Health and Human Services, Public Health Service, Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, National Institute for Occupational Safety and Health, FACE 98MA049, 1999 Jun ; :1-5
• Federal Fiscal Year:
  1999
• Performing Organization:
  Massachusetts Department of Health
• Peer Reviewed:
  False
• NAICS and SIC Codes:
  42 - Wholesale Trade - (NAICS)
• Start Date:
  1992/09/30
• End Date:
  2006/08/31
• Resource Number:
  FACE-98MA049
• Download URL:
  https://stacks.cdc.gov/view/cdc/166605/cdc_166605_DS1.pdf
• File Type:
  [PDF - 17.49 KB]
• Collection(s):
  Fatality Assessment and Control Evaluation (FACE) Program ; National Institute for Occupational Safety and Health
• Main Document Checksum:
  urn:sha-512:c90804ea831d301e004380d05618e1518e8d8a739ef57035479927ec828a9564a0df120a2cfb6d9d6c2ba0a1ed09f7f5d60f56b672548732eb196a9a2d804159