WAREHOUSE INJURY w forklift INJURYw TRENCH ACCIDENT
Whether you are in Texas or another State and
you think you or a loved one may have been injured by employer
negligence or business negligence due to negligence, please feel
free to contact us for a free consultation and case evaluation. Our
principal location is in Dallas, Texas (214)739-0100. The Cary Schulman Law Firm
will aggressively pursue your rights and interests.
The Law Office of Cary Schulman takes
serious injury and
wrongful
death cases involving warehouse environments in Texas and other
States in the US. Warehouse injuries are often unnecessary and
preventable and the Law Firm is
committed to aggressively
representing those persons and their families, who are injured in
preventable incidents. Much of the time, the true causes of
the accidents are not readily available to the worker or his/her
family. We investigate these incidents to the fullest extent.
See a current case of the Cary Schulman Law Firm
www.ToysRUsNegligence.Com
and request a
free eConsultation to discovery more in depth
information on your particular case.
Warehouses can be particularly dangerous as evidenced by reviewing
the
2007 Bureau of Labor Statistics.
Conveyors and other material handling equipment in warehouses cause
many employee injuries and employee deaths each year. Falls
from heights and falling objects are the third and fourth leading
cause of employee death behind transportation (including forklifts)
and homicide for occupational deaths.
See Chart Statistics.
J. Paul Leigh, a professor of epidemiology and preventive medicine
at the University of California, Davis, found 10 to 15 deaths per
100,000 warehouse workers, making it one of the top 100 deadliest
jobs. Falling boxes and containers caused nearly a third of
the deaths in warehouses, followed closely by accidents in forklifts
and other vehicles. The rest of the workers died from burns, heart
failure, heat, and accidents involving various machinery or
merchandise. Corporate pressures to minimize costs and realize
profits and unrealistic production quotas only add to the dangerous
conditions of warehouses.
Employers and Industry are well aware of the dangers associated with
forklift operations. Despite this, many
employers and
businesses fail to take appropriate measures. Moreover, same
forklift equipment might be defective or improperly manufactured
contributing to the cause of an accident or injury. We handle
cases in Texas and other states involving injuries related to
warehouse operations and forklift operations including.
Forklift injuries occur to pedestrians and workers who are struck,
employees during the operation of a forklift, employees falling from
forklifts or being crushed, and forklifts that overturn.
Facts & Statistics (Known Dangers)
- Forklifts injure and kill over 90,000 Americans each and every
year in this country.
-
In 2007, out of the 5,488 deaths in the US, 1,423 of the deaths
came under the “transportation and material moving occupations”,
which is the highest death rate category. See PDF file titled
“Industry by Transportation Incidents & Homicides”
also see
Bureau Statistics Charts.
- The
National
Institute for Occupational Safety and Health (NIOSH)
reports that every 3 days someone in the US is killed in a
forklift related accident and each year, an additional 94,750
injuries related to forklift accidents are reported.
- In the United States, 1,021 workers died from traumatic injuries
suffered in forklift-related incidents from 1980 to 1994. The
NTOF Surveillance System uses death certificates to identify
work-related deaths. These fatalities resulted from the
following types of incidents: Forklift overturns 22% Worker on
foot struck by forklift 20% Victim crushed by forklift 16% Fall
from forklift 9%
Safety & Prevention (Employer & Business Negligence)
-
Many employers and business fail to train their employees and
forklift drivers properly and in accordance with
OSHA standards.
- Often times the equipment fails to contain the necessary safety
equipment to prevent
serious injury and death from forklift
accidents.
- Many forklift accidents and injuries are due improper uses of
forklifts.
Unless employers properly train the operators of their forklifts
and refrain from having them used for improper purposes and in an
improper manner and unless the forklifts are equipped with the
proper safety measures, unnecessary accidents and injuries will
result.
Trench Collapse Accidents often occur as the result of the
failure to have the trench properly "shored." Shoring is a
well known safety technique used to reinforce the sides of
an excavation to prevent against wall collapse and cave-ins.
Laws from city to city and state to state vary, however,
Trenches deeper than five feet require safety measures to be
As with all
serious injury cases and wrongful death cases,
the Federal investigators from the Occupational Safety and
Health Administration OSHA should be notified about the
incident. This will greatly assist in any
wrongful
death case later brought. In a current
wrongful death
case we are involved in against
Toys R US, the
OSHA
investigation was a good starting place. See
www.toysrusnegligence.com.
In addition to
OSHA though, it is also very important to
conduct your own investigation, take photographs of the
scene, document witness accounts, secure records and
testimony and complete other necessary steps that either get
lost or are intentionally/recklessly lost. It is
prudent to retain a lawyer as soon as possible for this
purpose and insure that all evidence is brought to the
forefront.
Trenching accidents are often needless and the result of
negligence and gross negligence of the employer and those
other companies involved in the trenching. Often
times, personnel are not
properly trained.
OSHA has set very specific
standards for timber trench safety.
Regulations (Standards - 29 CFR)
Timber Shoring for Trenches - 1926 Subpart P App C
Furthermore,
OSHA has very specific standards with respect
to other protective systems such as sloping, benching,
shielding, and freezing systems which must be designed in
accordance with the requirements set forth in
1926.652(b) and 1926.652(c).
When these are not followed, the companies failing to
comply are negligent and grossly negligence.
If you believe you may have a case, please feel free to
contact us seek a
NO OBLIGATION FREE CONSULTATION and know your
rights regarding trench collapse accidents and
wrongful
deaths.
OR
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