Lumber mill employee fatally struck by forklift—Oregon

Oregon Case Report: 23OR001
Release Date: August 14, 2024

The following report is the product of our Cooperative State partner and is presented here in its original unedited form from the state. The findings and conclusions in this report are those of the individual Cooperative State partner and do not necessarily reflect the views or policy of the National Institute for Occupational Safety and Health.

SUMMARY

On September 6, 2023 a 63-year-old Native American/Hispanic male lumber mill employee was killed when he was struck by the load being carried by a forklift. At the time of the incident, the decedent was preparing to cut lumber for a pallet order. The workstation for this task included a yard saw and a pallet of lumber. The workstation was located inside a lumber shed between a forklift travel pathway and lumber storage area. The employee walked towards his workstation and stopped in the center of the lumber shed. While the employee was standing in this location, a forklift drove around the corner outside of the building to enter the same lumber shed. It was a sunny day, with the forklift driver facing southeast. The forklift driver did not see the employee standing in the forklift travel path just inside the lumber shed and the employee was fatally struck.

CONTRIBUTING FACTORS

Key contributing factors identified in the investigation include:

• Work station located close to forklift traffic
• Inadequate separation of pedestrian and forklift traffic
• Inadequate forklift controls to prevent collisions
• Limited visibility of workers in shaded work areas
• Unclear workplace policies

RECOMMENDATIONS

Oregon FACE investigators concluded that, to help prevent similar occurrences, employers should:

• Design workstations to eliminate exposure to forklift traffic
• Implement clear separation of forklift and pedestrian traffic
• Utilize forklift engineering controls for collision prevention
• Require high visibility personal protective equipment
• Provide clear workplace safety policies with training and enforcement

Lumber mill employee fatally struck by forklift—Oregon [PDF – 943 KB]