Forklift Accidents
Since 1947, our law office has been helping victims of serious lift-truck accidents. We have represented many people who suffered serious injury and death from lift trucks that—
- Collided with other lift trucks, people or objects
- Backed into people or objects
- Were used as elevated work platforms
- Tipped over and causing the operator to suffer a crush injury
- Had malfunctions that caused objects to fall off the forks
The following are a few examples of typical lift-truck occurrences that have resulted in litigation:
- An overhead guard crushed the deceased when the lift truck upset. There was no rollover protection system (ROPS). To prevent the operator from sliding sideways and to prevent ejection if the lift truck starts to tip, an effective ROPS includes
- An overhead guard
- Seatbelts
- Seats with armrest, body, and shoulder extensions.
- A construction lift (high loader) without an effective ROPS was upset and ejected an operator. It pinned him by the overhead guard and compressed his spine. This caused paraplegia.
- The victim was crushed by pallets that slipped over the top of the mass. The lift truck did not have ROPS or a back-lift extension of the fork.
- The deceased was struck on the head by the overhead guard when he was ejected during a lift truck upset. An effective ROPS would have prevented injury.
- The legs of the injured were crushed when his lift truck overturned on a level cement floor with the fork in the down position and no load. This could have been prevented with ROPS.
- The injured was run over by a lift truck while walking in an aisle. He was unaware of the lift truck and the lift truck operator was unaware of him. This could have been avoided if an automatic warning device was on the lift truck.
- The injured had his back to the lift truck while he was sweeping the warehouse floor. The lift truck backed up and ran over him—breaking both his legs. The injury could have been avoided by automatic backup alarms on the lift truck.
You are probably visiting our website because you or someone close to you has suffered a serious injury or death due to a lift truck. You should consult with an attorney to find out if you can get money for damages and fair compensation from a person or company who might be responsible for the injury. You may be entitled to compensation from the lift truck’s manufacturer, seller, distributor, or service company.
