MONACA, PA — One person was hurt after a forklift accident that happened at an elementary school in Monaca, Pennsylvania on Monday, November 3rd, 2014. The article from The Post Gazette said that the accident happened just before noon Monday.
One person was taken to the hospital after the forklift they were operating tipped while hauling a large ream of paper at Todd Lane Elementary School. The news report said that the forklift’s brakes malfunctioned before it tipped to one side.
The driver of the forklift was taken to the hospital for treatment of unspecified injuries.
The investigation into the accident is ongoing at this time.
Scene of the Accident
Commentary:
At first blush, this accident seems like it would be a strictly workers’ compensation situation where the worker is shoehorned into a benefits system that is designed to help, but often helps the employer more than the victim hurt while working for them. However, if the news report is correct, and the forklift’s brakes failed somehow, then the manufacturer of the forklift could be liable for the accident. We hear of brake failures and recalls all the time for cars on the road, so forklift and other heavy machinery brakes are not immune to the same problems. If the forklift was the cause of the accident, and not operator error, then workers’ compensation may not be a factor because the forklift manufacturer could be considered an intervening third party that could be sued en lieu of the employer, since workers’ compensation waives the employee right to sue from the get-go. In my experience, non-workers’ compensation solutions tend to be the most favorable, but there is the occasional exception.
— Grossman Law Offices
