If you drive a forklift for your job, you know there is a high risk of injury. Following are some important things to understand about forklift safety and your rights to workers’ compensation benefits if you get hurt on the job in California.
IMPORTANT: If you have suffered any of the types of injuries described below, talk to a California workers’ comp attorney about getting the maximum available benefits. Those benefits may include medical benefits and wage-replacement benefits.
What types of injuries are most common?
Forklifts are involved in over 20,000 warehouse accidents each year. To prevent injuries, it’s important to be aware of common types of forklift accidents.
For example, even if you are driving a forklift with care, something could fall and hit you. Too often, this sort of accident results in a serious head injury. Likewise, objects falling off forklifts often cause injuries to workers standing nearby.
Collisions with forklifts are another common occurrence. The forks themselves can cause a lot of harm, and in many cases, workers suffer disabling injuries when a forklift rolls over a foot or an ankle.
Of course, standing on the forks is always dangerous, as is jumping from the forks to another surface.
Tip-over accidents often result in some of the most serious forklift injuries. Drivers have to watch their speed going around corners and avoid driving the lift onto uneven surfaces where a tip-over is more likely.
Training, safety equipment and proper maintenance are the keys to forklift safety
Helmets, work gloves and other gear can help you avoid serious injury if you are involved in a forklift accident. Likewise, your employer should provide proper training and resources to help you avoid injuries.
Unfortunately, some employers fail to properly maintain forklifts and other equipment on the job site. This can lead to serious injuries at work.
To learn more about your workers’ compensation options, please see our California workers’ comp overview.