Con-Way Freight Cited for Safety Violations Following Death of Forklift Operator

Texas & Nationwide Personal Injury News

Con-Way Freight Cited for Safety Violations by U.S. Labor Department's OSHA Following Death of Forklift Operator at Manchester, N.H., Depot

Michigan-based delivery company also cited after similar 2003 accident in Texas

Concord, N.H. - The U.S. Department of Labor's Occupational Safety and Health Administration (OSHA) has proposed a total of $119,500 in fines against Con-Way Freight Inc., an Ann Arbor, Mich.-based delivery carrier, for alleged willful, repeat and serious safety violations following an inspection at the company's Manchester, N.H., service center.

The inspection was prompted by an Oct. 3, 2007, accident in which a Con-Way Freight employee died when he was crushed beneath the forklift he was operating after it went off the edge of a loading dock. OSHA's inspection found that the employee had not been using the forklift's seatbelt, and the company had not trained him and other forklift operators to follow the manufacturer's guideline that seatbelts be used during operation.

"Manufacturer guidelines require the use of seatbelts, and OSHA's powered industrial truck standard mandates that employers train their forklift operators to follow those guidelines," said Francis Pagliuca, OSHA's acting area director for New Hampshire. "Con-Way Freight repeatedly has refused to require forklift operators to use seatbelts even though another employee died in a similar accident in Dallas in 2003. This practice must change, or employees nationwide continually will remain exposed to the dangers of fatal or disabling injuries."

For the lack of training, OSHA issued Con-Way Freight one willful citation, with the maximum proposed fine of $70,000. OSHA defines a willful violation as one committed with plain indifference to or intentional disregard for employee safety and health. The company also was issued one repeat citation, with a $35,000 fine, for allowing the forklift to be operated in a defective condition. OSHA cited the company's Bridgeview, Ill., facility for a similar hazard in May 2007.

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