Logistics firm fined after worker hit, seriously injured by forklift
by Canadian Manufacturing.com Staff
A worker taking care of paperwork on the floor of a warehouse was hit from behind by a forklift carrying a skid of drums
WOODBRIDGE, Ont.—A shipping and warehousing company has been fined $85,000 after a worker was hit by a forklift at one of its facilities just north of Toronto.
The incident took place at a logistics warehouse owned by Consolidated Fastfrate Inc. in Woodbridge, Ont. in February of last year.
According to Ontario’s Ministry of Labour, a worker was loading drums into vehicle at a loading bay using a forklift. After lifting one skid of drums onto the vehicle, the worker proceeded to pick up the next skid. The drums were stacked in a way that didn’t allow the forklift operator to fully see in front of the vehicle.
With the second load on the forks, the forklift hit another worker who was standing on the floor on the warehouse taking care of paperwork. The worker—who was also a forklift operator—was hit from behind and suffered a permanent injury.
The company pleaded guilty to violating the industrial section of the province’s health and safety act for failing to use a signaler when a forklift operator’s view is obstructed by a load.
