Authorities in the United States and Canada last week handed down a series of fines for safety violations and forklift accidents that left workers with serious injuries, including a broken back and a crushed hand.
K-Tec Earthmovers
Rosenort, Manitoba, Canada
A fine of CAD25,000 (USD18,160) was imposed on K-Tech Earthmovers Inc for an accident involving a forklift driver in May 2021.
Manitoba Labour and Immigration says the accident happened at K-Tec Earthmovers Inc’s plant in Rosenort in the Rural Municipality of Morris.
A forklift driver was unloading tyres with the help of another worker, with the tyres being rolled out manually, tipped onto forklift forks and transferred to a skid for stacking.
The worker was rolling out a tyre when a tyre from the row behind fell forward, crushing the worker against the container floor.
The worker sustained compression fractures of their back and neck and briefly lost consciousness.
K-Tec Earthmovers Inc, which manufactures heavy-duty, earth-moving scrapers for construction, agriculture and mining sites around the world, pleaded guilty to failing to develop safe work procedures in the workplace.
MTCA Inc,
Guelph, Southwestern Ontario, Canada
The provincial offences court in Guelph fined MTCA Inc CAD70,000 (USD50,850) over an accident in May 2023 that left a worker severely injured.
The court heard a worker was seriously injured after being struck by a forklift at the company’s Guelph facility, which washes totes and other reusable plastic containers.
On the day of the accident, a dryer had broken down, causing a trail of water to form down the aisle where workers were using forklifts to transport totes.
The forklifts were not equipped with the proper tires suitable for wet environments.
One worker driving a forklift down the aisle lost control and collided with another worker.
MTCA pleaded guilty to failing to ensure that floor was kept free of hazards.
Justice of the Peace Walter W. Rojek also imposed a 25% cent victim fine surcharge.
Ecore International Inc
Austin, TX, United States
Reclaimed rubber flooring manufacturer Ecore International Inc faces fines of USD299,591 after an Occupational Health and Safety Administration (OHSA) inspection found more than a dozen safety violations at its Austin plant.
OHSA investigators discovered the company made employees stand on elevated forklift tines to reach work areas, allowed untrained workers to operate forklifts and failed to ensure machines had required safety guards.
The inspection also found the company failed to prevent fires fuelled by improper buildup of combustible dust, permitted potentially explosive atmospheres to exist, lacked safe areas for welding and exposed employees to slip, trip and fall hazards at its Mexia plant.
Ecore International was cited for one willful violation and 15 serious violations.
“Ecore International must extend the innovation it credits for its company’s success to the safety and health of the people who help make and sell its products,” said OSHA area director Monica Camacho in Austin, Texas.
“At the company’s Mexia facility, our inspectors found employees forced to climb atop forklifts to do their jobs, workers exposed to potential dangers of fire and explosion, and many unprotected from the risks of falls and unguarded machines, all of which provides a formula for serious or fatal injuries.”
In a separate investigation in May 2024 at a new Ecore facility in Ozark, Alabama, OSHA found similar machine guard hazards unchecked and employees exposed to potential electrocution and amputation dangers.
“A successful enterprise like Ecore International has the resources to establish and follow a comprehensive safety and health program and to address hazards proactively before disaster strikes,” Camacho says.
Founded in 1871, Ecore International Inc. consists of the ECOsurfaces, Surface America, A-Turf and SpectraTurf companies, serving customers in more than 75 countries in the healthcare, hospitality, education, retail, wellness, sports and fitness industries.
Ecore’s US customers include daycare centres, dance studios, high schools and universities.
The company has 15 business days from receipt of citation and penalties to comply.
AEG Management Oakland and Tommy Harman
Oakland, CA, United States
Personal injury lawyers Arias Sanguinetti have obtained an USD8.29 million verdict on behalf of a man whose hand was severely crushed by a forklift driven by another stagehand at the Rolling Loud Festival in 2019.
The accident happened while Angel Aguirre was breaking down the stage set for artist 21 Savage at the Oakland Coliseum in September 2019.
Aguirre suffered a degloving injury with lacerated nerves and severe injury to the tendons and ligaments of his right hand.
The lawsuit was brought because Aguirre’s safety was sacrificed when AEG Oakland Management and Tommy Harman failed to meet safety standards, law firm partners Elise R. Sanguinetti and Jamie G. Goldstein said in a statement.
“Mr. Aguirre was a highly skilled professional in his line of work and ultimately suffered severe and life-altering injuries at the fault of a negligent forklift-operator,” Sanguinetti said.
“This incident was completely preventable but the failure to follow basic safety precautions ruined his life. He’s been unable to do the work he loves and was trained for and the financial burden from this lack of work and the crushing medical bills has caused a brutal level of stress. This verdict will go a long way toward alleviating that stress and helping him move on with his life.”
The case is Angel Aguirre v. AEG Management Oakland, LLC and Tommy Harman, Alameda Superior Court, Case No. RG20-074680.