Trauma Cleanup – Warehouse Woes: Injury at Work
According to OSHA, injury at work is 70% avoidable with proper training and safety guideline enforcement. When it comes to forklift use in the workplace, there are three common accidents that occur that are avoidable in most circumstances: forklift overturn, forklift striking or pinning a person, and workers falling from forklifts. About a year ago in Hendersonville, Tennessee, there was a terrible accident involving forklift operation resulting in critical injury at work that was tragically avoidable.
Phillip, a forklift operator in a Hendersonville warehouse, had arrived at work on time as usual, but he was clearly dragging his feet. As a well-trained operator, Philip was depended on heavily for his mastery of forklift operation and had even been called upon to train new employees. He was on his way up and gaining respect in his industry. But this Monday morning, Phillip put everything on the line when he arrived at work still intoxicated from a wild night that creeped into the early morning hours. Not wanting to call in, and trying to convince himself that he was sober enough to work, Phillip clocked in and began moving pallets onto the flatbeds. Another worker that had been out with Phillip the night before didn’t show up, so the workload was twice the usual and the drivers were becoming impatient. With impaired judgement and the pressure of a heavier workload, Phillip made a single choice that changed everything in not only his own life, but the lives of many others.
It was way too high a load to safely carry, according to a warehouse employee on scene when our Advanced Bio Treatment technicians arrived, and the forklift along with its load of pavers tipped. That’s when the chaos ensued. Not only had Phillip become trapped by the nine thousand pound forklift when his right leg was crushed by the overturned forklift, the pavers had completely crushed another employee standing beside the load as it was being lifted onto the flatbed. Two other employees were struck by falling pavers, one on the head and the other had several gashes to the back of his head and shoulder. One terrible decision to operate heavy machinery while intoxicated gave way to three serious injuries and a fatality that morning.
The Burden of Workplace Trauma
Once paramedics and the coroner were finished with their duties and the dead and injured were taken, Advanced Bio Treatment came in to recover the mess left behind at the warehouse. There was a great deal of blood, as there often is from an injury at work, and it had seeped under the piled pavers and was smeared throughout the driver’s compartment and exterior side of the forklift. The owners of the paver company were now not only overwhelmed with grief from their workplace injury and loss, concerns of liability and insurance claims, and a stall in the delivery of materials, but they now had the responsibility of cleaning the blood and human tissue remaining on the floor and all over the equipment and materials. Advanced Bio Treatment was honored to lift this portion of their burden so that they could at the very least business could resume from their warehouse while they dealt with the insurance claims and investigators.
The last thing you need to worry about after an injury at work occurs is the cleanup. Advanced Bio Treatment gladly takes this weight off of you and your business and you can feel certain you are receiving the most professional trauma cleanup services in the industry. Advanced Bio Treatment has not only experience, but we offer compassionate, confidently assistance so that you can attend to what is really important.
Call us at 1-800-295-1684 to speak with one of our highly trained operators.