A forklift’s inoperable beeping mechanism and its broken mirror are partially responsible for a Florida construction worker’s death, according to investigators. As reported at naplesnews.com, the forklift ran over and killed the man late last month in Naples.
The victim and other workers were delivering tile to a construction site. A 19-year-old was operating the forklift, which had a broken mirror and a broken beeping mechanism that signals when it is in reverse gear. According to Naples police, the 19-year-old driver was with the company only about two weeks at the time of the construction accident.
According to the Occupational Safety and Health Administration (OSHA), approximately 85 people die every year from forklift accidents. In addition, forklifts cause over 34,000 serious injuries every year in the United States. About 10 percent of the deaths occur from a forklift running over its victim, as in the above accident. Other deaths occur when the forklift tips over, falls from a platform or when falling construction material hits the forklift and the driver.
Naples investigators are still looking into this most recent forklift accident. We hope that the teenage forklift operator had the proper training and certification to operate the machine.
Colson Hicks Eidson – Florida lawyers