Forklift Injuries on The Job Are a Serious Issue

According to the U.S. Bureau of Labor and Statistics, Forklift related injuries are a serious issue.

From 2011 to 2017, 614 workers lost their lives in forklift related incidents and more than 7,000 nonfatal injuries with days away from work occurred every year.

Of the 74 fatal work injuries involving forklifts in 2017, the events that led to the most workplace deaths were nonroadway incidents (20), struck by powered vehicle, non-transport cases (13), struck by falling object cases (12), falls to lower level (11), and pedestrian vehicular incidents (9).

Forklifts were involved in 9,050 nonfatal workplace injuries or illnesses with days away from work in 2017. These cases resulted in workers taking a median of 13 days away from work, higher than the median of 8 days for all cases. Of these cases, 2,050 involved nonroadway accidents with the forklift, and 1,850 more cases involved pedestrians while the forklift was in transportation use. Forklift related occupational injuries to pedestrians resulted in the highest median days away from work (20 days) compared to other forklift related events.