Steve Early had no experience or prior training operating a forklift nor was he certified as a forklift operator. Nevertheless, on his first day of work at the AZ Company, he was assigned to operate a forklift.
“There’s nothing to it,” his supervisor told him. “It’s just like driving a car.”
“OK,” Early agreed. “I guess I can handle it.”
But Early’s first few weeks on the job were kind of bumpy—literally. Several times on each shift he would bump into pallets and knock things over. His supervisor observed a few of these accidents and warned Early to be more careful. But Early continued to bump his way through the job.
The most effective and cost-efficient way to provide safety training to your workforce—Try a demo of BLR’s remarkable TrainingToday at no cost or obligation.
One day about 3 weeks after being hired, Early’s supervisor instructed him to drive down a narrow aisle between two rows of stacked, loaded pallets.
“Gee, boss, I don’t know if I can fit through there,” Early said.
“Sure you can,” his supervisor replied. “Now, get a move on.”
So Early reluctantly proceeded down the aisle. At some point, his left foot became pinned between the forklift and a wall of pallets. He suffered multiple fractures of his foot and his knee was badly twisted as well. Both injuries required surgery.
When he got out of the hospital, Early went to court and sued the company and his supervisor for negligence. He argued that he was injured because the company and the supervisor failed to provide training that could have prevented the accident. He pointed out that Occupational Safety and Health Administration (OSHA) regulations mandated specific training for forklift operators. That training included a test maneuvering through an obstacle course of pallets. If he’d been given such a test and knocked over any of the pallets, he would not have passed and been certified as a forklift operator. And, therefore, he would not have been injured.
The company and supervisor countered that the accident was Early’s fault. The incident report prepared by AZ’s safety director listed the cause of the accident as a violation of a safety rule—Early had his foot outside the cab at the time of the accident. And, indeed, a coworker testified that he had seen Early riding with his foot outside the cab on several occasions, contrary to the company’s rules.
Decision
There is sufficient evidence to prove that both employer and supervisor were negligent, ruled the Supreme Court of Appeals of West Virginia. They were aware when the employee was hired that federal law required forklift operators to be properly trained and certified. By permitting the employee to operate a forklift without completing OSHA-required training, the company and supervisor acted negligently. What about the employee’s alleged unsafe behavior? The training he didn’t get, said the court, was specifically designed to prevent just such behavior and teach employees how to operate a forklift safely.
Try a demo of BLR’s remarkable award-winning Training Today at no cost or obligation. Includes the Workplace Safety library. Get the details.
Comment
Failure to provide OSHA-required training is a serious mistake. When new employees are hired, or when employees are assigned new jobs with new hazards, make sure they are properly trained from the start. No employee should ever be allowed to operate dangerous equipment or perform any other job until all required training has been completed and the employee has demonstrated competence as well as an understanding of hazards and precautions.
Train for Compliance—and for Safety’s Sake
Need training material on forklift operations—and dozens of other safety training topics to help keep your employees safe and avoid potential lawsuits? Check out the Workplace Safety library on BLR’s TrainingToday®.
Unlike many training solutions available on the market today, TrainingToday courses are routinely reviewed and updated to reflect changes in federal regulations or best practices. Each training course is developed by BLR® lawyers, industry experts, and instructional designers who have experience across a wealth of industries, topics, and compliance areas.
Courses keep participants interested with engaging audio, built-in exercises, and key points to remember. At the completion of every course, individuals take a quiz designed to test for competency in all the course material presented. Quiz results and course completion times are automatically recorded.
Every course can be tailored with supporting and custom documents. BLR provides supporting documents for courses that include complete speaker notes and the answer key for the included quiz. As the administrator, you have the option of displaying uploaded documents and requiring review before the session begins. This is especially useful for company policies or worksite-specific information. Supporting materials can be added, edited, or removed at any time.
With only a few minutes’ setup, your company will have a complete Web-based training program with professionally developed courses, employee testing capabilities, and systematic documentation of employee training sessions and scores. And remember, BLR TrainingToday courses can be delivered at individual employee desks, in computer centers, at training kiosks, or even in a classroom.
No wonder BLR’s TrainingToday was named “Best Workforce Training Solution” by the Software Information Industry Association. It can help you launch a cost-effective and successful employee training program.
We urge you to sign up for a no-obligation demo by visiting the award-winning TrainingToday. Or, feel free to call our Customer Service people toll-free at 866-696-4827.