Forklift Accidents & Work Injuries – Statistics & Safety Requirements

Proper training is essential for preventing forklift accidents and work injuries in Missouri.

Forklift injuries are unfortunately all-too-common in Missouri and can result from mechanical failures, worker inattention, or lack of proper training. Let’s discuss some statistics and safety requirements related to forklifts. Here’s how to protect yourself and your company. 

Forklifts Are a Useful Tool, but Can Be Dangerous

Forklifts are used in logistics, industrial applications, and many other industries where heavy loads must frequently be moved within warehouses and other facilities. And while they are instrumental, they can also be dangerous. Here are some forklift work injury statistics: 

• Forklifts caused 79 work-related deaths in 2019. 
• Forklifts caused 8,140 non-fatal injuries that required time away from work in 2019.
• On average, forklift injuries require workers to take 16 days off of work.
• 49% of forklift injuries were “transportation incidents,” meaning the forklift ran into another person, object, or vehicle.
• 33% of forklift injuries were caused by “contact with object, equipment,” meaning a worker may have been struck by a moving object, crushed by the forklift, or otherwise injured by the forklift or the object it’s carrying.

Due to forklifts’ nature, which often operates alongside other vehicles and pedestrians and transport heavy loads, they have the potential to be dangerous. Therefore, only those who are properly trained operators should operate them.

The most common injuries caused by forklifts include:

• Whiplash
• Neck and back injuries
• Lower back pain 
• Musculoskeletal injuries, such as broken bones
• Crush injuries

Even a minor forklift accident could result in serious injuries and complications, so if you are injured or involved in a forklift accident in Missouri, make sure to inform your employer and file a workers’ compensation claim right away.

Forklift Training & Safety Requirements In Missouri

All employees who operate forklifts in Missouri must meet OSHA requirements for training and safety. Among other requirements, they must:

• Obtain formal in-person instruction and be certified for forklift use through an OSHA-approved program with at least 10 hours of training.
• Be over the age of 18.
• Undergo regular evaluations of operational skills and performance.
• Be provided with a written program that goes overtraining, licensing, and renewal or review program requirements.
• Go through an OSHA-approved recertification program every three years.

Proper training is essential for preventing forklift accidents and work injuries in Missouri. 

Injured By A Forklift? Don’t Settle for Less Than You Deserve!

At The Law Office of James M. Hoffmann, our work injury attorneys are here to help you get the compensation you deserve if you’re injured on the job by a forklift. Whether you were operating the forklift or were involved in an incident with another worker or forklift operator, it’s important to protect your legal rights.  

Contact us today for a free case review, and see how our workers’ compensation lawyers can help you recover the money you are entitled to for your injuries, lost wages, and more.