Forklift struck, killed worker after Alabama yard ignored safety rules, feds say
A 45-year-old worker died on a shipping yard in Alabama in 2021 after she was struck by a forklift, officials said.
Now, the Department of Labor is citing the manufacturer.
Sunbelt Forest Products LLC was cited after a worker was fatally injured in an Athens lumber shipping yard on Nov. 15, 2021, the agency said in a May 23 news release.
“The OSHA citations were just issued and we’re evaluating them. Nothing is more important to us than the safety and well-being of our team members, and together with OSHA, we are leading the investigation into this tragic event,” a spokesperson from Sunbelt Forest Products told McClatchy News on May 25.
Occupational Safety and Health Administration investigators said the manufacturer put workers’ safety at risk by allowing employees to walk in areas where forklift drivers could not see them.
The agency added that the company ignored safety standards when it not distinguish “shipping department travel aisles for trucks, forklifts and pedestrians” and did not require forklift operators to “keep a clear view of the driving path.”
The manufacturer is facing $53,866 in proposed fines, according to the agency.
“A forklift typically weighs between 4,000 to 9,000 pounds and poses significant risk of severe injury or death to workers who may be struck-by this equipment,” OSHA Area Office Director Ramona Morris in Birmingham, Alabama, said in the release. “Employers must take precautions in workplaces that use powered industrial vehicles to prevent devastating incidents and the loss of someone’s life.”
Sunbelt Forest Products is a lumber manufacturer headquartered in Florida with locations throughout the country, according to its website.
This story was originally published May 24, 2022 at 1:41 PM with the headline "Forklift struck, killed worker after Alabama yard ignored safety rules, feds say."
