A Lowe’s Worker is 1 of 12 in a Forklift or Pallet-Related TX Job Accident in 09/2021-Pt2
Working with pallets and with or around forklifts is a hazardous situation that exists in virtually every warehouse environment. Lowe’s, Amazon, Walmart, and Home Depot are all big box stores with warehouses across Texas and none are likely subscribers to the Texas workers’ compensation insurance program. Yet, they are responsible to ensure a safe work environment, same as all employers.
In September 2021, at least 12 Texas workers were seriously injured in accidents involving pallets or forklifts. Details are provided by the U.S. Department of Labor’s Occupational Safety and Health Administration (OSHA). The following information is about one of those September 2021 injuries that was followed up with both an OSHA inspection and the issuance of OSHA citations against the employer.
An El Paso, Texas, Employer is Penalized After a Forklift-Related Work Accident
On September 27, 2021, an employee for Alliance Riggers & Constructors LTD was seriously injured and hospitalized after a forklift-involved work accident. The location of the accident was 731 N. Yarboro, El Paso TX 79928. The primary NAICS Code for the employer is 238120, which is the Structural Steel and Precast Concrete Contractors industry.
OSHA describes the work accident as follows, and information about the subsequent inspection will be in the next installment of this series:
- The employee who was injured was waiting for a crane to take away some rigged up material. A second worker used a forklift to lift rebars. Some of those rebars were under an H-type steel beam weighing 2500 lbs. When the rebars were lifted, they tipped the steel beam over onto another beam next to it, creating a domino effect. The employee who suffered an injury was struck by the steel beam and suffered leg fractures in both legs.
See Part 1 and, in the next segment, learn about the results of the inspection following above-described accident.
Accusing individuals or organizations of misdeeds is not intended on this website. The purpose of the posts on this site is to help injured workers and the families of workers who died in fatal work injuries when the employer involved was not a Texas workers’ compensation participant when the accident occurred.
–Guest Contributor
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