Jacksonville Forklift Accident Attorneys

A forklift or powered industrial truck is primarily used to move materials, but the Occupational Safety and Health Administration (OSHA) estimates there are about 85 fatal forklift accidents every year with 34,900 resulting in serious injury and 61,800 classified as non-serious.

How do they occur? A survey by the Industrial Truck Association found in 42% of the cases, the forklift crushed the worker when it tipped over and the worker tried to jump from the machine. In some cases, the forklift overturned when it was overloaded with material.

The second leading cause of accident occurs when a person is crushed between the vehicle and a surface or between two vehicles. In about 10% of the cases, a person is hit or run over by a forklift. Less common is being struck by falling material or falling from a platform on the forks.

In the warehouse, a forklift underride accident happens when the forklift moves forward into or backs up into shelving used to hold a product. Unfortunately, the weight of the falling shelves or products can strike the forklift operator, crushing him in the compartment, resulting in catastrophic brain or spinal cord injury. There is very little between the worker and falling objects and manufacturers do not include roll bars or anti-intrusion bars.

Better training is required to prevent injuries. OSHA requires drivers be properly trained and prohibits employees under the age of 18 from operating a forklift for non-agricultural operations. An 18-year-old must be adequately trained and certified as competent to operate a forklift.

Jacksonville Forklift Accident Attorneys Providing Legal Representation

Victims of a forklift accident may be facing a lifetime of lost income, ongoing medical care and expenses, rehabilitation, pain management and costs that can easily run into seven figures. Farah & Farah’s Jacksonville forklift accident attorneys have experience with worksite injuries. Since 1979 we have been helping those injured on-the-job find the at-fault party and determine a fair and reasonable settlement that represents lost wages both now and in the future. If your worksite was poorly managed or the employer was negligent, or the machine itself was defective in design or manufacture, Farah & Farah can determine if you have a wrongful death or product liability case.

Any delay in obtaining legal representation from a Jacksonville construction site accident lawyer makes uncovering the cause of your accident that much more difficult.