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on-the-job forklift injury resulting in paraplegia
This case involved in incident wherein the Plaintiff suffered an on the job injury while
in the course and scope of his employment. At the time of the incident, Plaintiff had only
worked for his employer for 1 ½ weeks. His job was to operate a forklift to unload crates
from trailers. Plaintiff had approximately 9 years experience working with forklifts loading
and unloading products.
On the day of the incident a co-worker with more experience and seniority than
Plaintiff, asked Plaintiff to assist him in unloading a pallet that he was having trouble with.
Plaintiff went to the trailer and his co-employee instructed Plaintiff to stand next the load
and use his hands raised above his head to stabilize the load as Plaintiff’s co-worker
attempted to lift the load with the forklift. The load consisted of 24 boxes of steel coils.
The load weighed 1600 pounds. As Plaintiff’s co-employee attempted to lift the pallet, the
entire load fell crushing Plaintiff. As a result of the incident, Plaintiff was paralyzed.
Plaintiff contented that the trailer had been improperly loaded. The method used
violated all known industry standards. The trailer was loaded improperly from every
conceivable consideration. The load was stacked four layers high. The highest layer was
the heaviest layer. The load of 1600 pound coils should never have been placed on top
of another load. Additionally, the load of coils was wider than the load directly below it
making the load unstable. Worse yet, the third and fourth layers of products were placed
on an extremely narrow and unstable second layer. It was essentially shaped like a
reversed triangle with the heaviest load on the top. Additionally, the third layer, the one
directly below the 1600 pound pallet of coils were long rows of narrow, loosely packed
boxes of roof awnings. The lose boxes of roof awnings were not fastened together in any
manner and, therefore slid about, shifting as the trailer moved in transport causing the
1600 pound load of coils to shift and move about the trailer haphazardly.
The last factor that made this catastrophic accident a virtual certainty was the
manner in which the Defendant Company wrapped its load for transport. The 1600 pound
boxes of coils were shrink wrapped together but never attached to the wood pallet.
Industry standards require that the shrink wrap load must be attached to the pallet to
prevent exactly the type of accident that occurred in this case. The load should have been
shrink wrapped around the wood pallet and then steel banded together. Defendant
Company was responsible for properly wrapping and securing its load before it was given
to the Defendant for transport.
Plaintiff suffered a T-12 fracture with neurological involvement. He was diagnosed
as being an incomplete T-12 paraplegic. Sadly, Plaintiff suffered perhaps the worse spinal
injury a person can suffer. He was paralyzed and wheelchair bound yet continued to
experience severe back and lower extremity pain and he has no bowel or bladder control.
* Results may vary depending on your particular facts and legal circumstances. Because every case is different, the descriptions of awards and cases previously handled are not meant to be a guarantee of success.
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