Category: Companies by Name|Forklifts|No Worker's Compensation|OSHA Reporting|Walmart|Work Injury Attorney|Worker Deaths

Forklifts are used in warehouses to transport many types of loads, and potential dangers abound. Employees at big-box stores are often at risk of injury, whether they operate forklifts or work near them. This applies to Walmart, Amazon, Home Depot, and Lowe’s, none of which are likely subscribers to Texas workers’ comp.

The U.S. Department of Labor’s Occupational Safety and Health Administration (OSHA) has reported details of a January 2020 fatal Texas work accident involving a forklift, which is a type of powered industrial truck (PIT). Details follow.

A Forklift Operator is Crushed to Death

A forklift operator working for Nabors Drilling Technologies USA, Inc., was working at 3840 East Highway 44 in Alice, TX 78332 when he was killed in a tragic forklift-related work accident. OSHA describes the accident in an investigation summary:

• On the morning of January 27, 2020, a forklift operator was preparing to move a rack of drill pipe to make room for other equipment. Soon after he began the work, he was discovered caught and crushed between the rack of pipe and the forklift. He sustained crushing injuries that killed him.

Also, see Part 1, Part 2, Part 3, Part 4, Part 5, Part 6, Part 7, Part 8, Part 9, Part 10, Part 11, and Part 12 of this continuing series.

This is a website for Texas injured workers. The work injury posts are intended as helpful resources for seriously injured employees and the families of fatally injured employees when the employer has not subscribed to the workers’ compensation insurance program in Texas. It is never intended on this website to imply that persons or organizations have been involved in misdeeds.

–Guest Contributor

While forklifts are widely used and necessary for many types of work, they are potentially hazardous, particularly when pedestrians are working side-by-side with workers operating forklifts. This is a common situation at big-box stores such as Amazon, Lowe’s, Walmart, and Home Depot, none of which are workers’ compensation participants in Texas.

In continuing this series with fatal forklift-involved accidents that have occurred recently in Texas, the following are details about a 2020 tragedy.

A Forklift Tips Over, Killing an Employee

On June 5, 2020, at SRS Distribution Inc. located at 22411 Interstate 45 in Spring, Texas 77389, a fatal work accident occurred. The employer is in the Roofing, Siding, and Insulation Material Merchant Wholesalers industry, which has a NAICS Code of 423330. The accident details follow, as described by the U.S. Department of Labor’s Occupational Safety and Health Administration (OSHA):

• At 9 am, an employee operating a forklift was driving up a loading ramp when a fatal Texas work accident occurred. The forklift operator struck the loading ramp on the right side with the front right wheel, causing the forklift to tip over and fall. The employee became pinned between the ground below and the top frame of the forklift. He suffered internal injuries and died.

See Part 1, Part 2, Part 3, Part 4, Part 5, Part 6, Part 7, and this ongoing series, which will next provide information on the OSHA citation issued to SRS Distribution Inc.

In posting on this work injury website, the goal is to help Texas workers who have suffered serious on-the-job injuries and the families of employees who suffered fatal workplace injuries when the employer has not subscribed to Texas workers’ comp. This site never intends to suggest that persons or entities have been involved in wrongdoing.

–Guest Contributor

Fatality reports from 2019 prepared by the U.S. Department of Labor’s Occupational Safety and Health Administration (OSHA) show that a dozen Texas employees suffered forklift-related fatal workplace injuries. The 12 employers include the following companies mentioned so far in this series that have likely not opted for participation in Texas workers’ comp. They are BRW Metal Industries LLC, Allied Tube & Conduit Corporation, Riverside Builders, JRD LLC, WCA Waste Corporation of Texas LP, and Walmart.

The next place of employment where a worker died in a 2019 work accident involving a forklift is Eco-Crete LLC with the mailing address 559 East Huisache in San Antonio, TX 78212. Eco-Crete LLC is another company that likely has not subscribed to workers’ compensation in Texas.

An employee of Eco-Crete LLC died on September 30, 2019, in a forklift-involved workplace accident. The deadly accident occurred at 8701 FM 2244 in Austin, TX 78746. The employer’s NAICS code is 236220. Eco-Crete LLC is in the “Commercial and Institutional Building Construction” industry. The following are examples of the types of structures built within this industry classification:

• Barracks
• Prisons
• Arenas
• Office buildings
• Airports
• Hospitals
• Restaurants

OSHA describes the accident as follows.

An Employee Dies After Falling 60 Feet

• On September 30, 2019, an employee working for Eco-Crete LLC was installing floor decks on a new construction project. The employee was reaching into a job box to get tools when the tragedy occurred. The job box was situated on a forklift, and the box suddenly fell onto the employee. He lost his balance and fell from the upper floor decking to the ground below, which was a distance of 60 feet. He died as a result of severe head trauma.

Also, see Pt. 1, Pt. 2, Pt. 3, Pt. 4, Pt. 5, Pt. 6, Pt. 7, Pt. 8, Pt. 9, Pt. 10, Pt. 11, Pt. 12, Pt. 13, Pt. 14, Pt. 15, Pt. 16, Pt. 17, Pt. 18, Pt. 19, Pt. 20, Pt. 21, Pt. 22, and Pt. 23 of this ongoing blog series.

The purpose of adding posts to this website is to provide helpful sources of information that could benefit injured Texas workers and families of employees who suffered fatal on-the-job injuries. This is especially relevant when the employer is not a workers’ compensation subscriber in Texas. There is never an intention to suggest on this website that persons or entities have engaged in misdeeds.

–Guest Contributor

Of the employers named in this series so far about 12 fatal forklift accidents that occurred in Texas in 2019, some have not likely opted to participate in Texas workers’ comp. Those employers include JRD LLC, Riverside Builders, BRW Metal Industries LLC, Walmart, and WCA Waste Corporation of Texas LP.

Another worker who died in 2019 in a forklift-related workplace accident was an employee of C & C Sage, Inc. in San Antonio TX. The fatal work accident occurred at 3626 Binz-Engleman Rd., which is also the company’s mailing address. C & C Sage, Inc.’s NAICS code is: 327991. The company is in the “Cut Stone and Stone Product Manufacturing” industry. The following are examples of the types of products manufactured in this industry classification:

• Stone, granite, and curbing
• Ecclesiastical stone statuary
• Stone countertops
• Stone architectural sculptures
• Stone burial vaults
• Stone garden furniture

The U.S. Department of Labor’s Occupational Safety and Health Administration (OSHA) describes details of the tragedy as follows.

An Industrial Truck Tips Over and Kills An Employee

• On July 4, 2019, just after midnight, a forklift operator working for C & C Sage, Inc. in San Antonio TX 78219 became the victim of a fatal accident. The forklift had an attachment on it, and the vehicle tipped over. The worker was thrown from the forklift and hit his head on the forklift’s mast, which killed him.

In the next segment of this series, learn about the citations issued to C & C Sage, Inc. as a result of the OSHA inspection conducted after the fatal Texas workplace accident.

Also, see Pt. 1, Pt. 2, Pt. 3, Pt. 4, Pt. 5, Pt. 6, Pt. 7, Pt. 8, Pt. 9, Pt. 10, Pt. 11, Pt. 12, Pt. 13, Pt. 14, Pt. 15, Pt. 16, and Pt. 17 of this ongoing blog series.

This is a work injury website intended as a resource to provide help to injured Texas workers and the families of Texas employees who suffered fatal injuries at work. This is particularly relevant if the employer was not a workers’ compensation participant at the time of the accident. There is no intention on this site to infer that wrongs have occurred on the part of persons or entities.

–Guest Contributor