Schenectady, NY — A worker back in May of this year (Thursday, May 14, 2015) was injured and required surgery after an accident at Tomra NY Recycling with a forklift. The accident happened when he was working at the facility in Schenectady and a passing forklift, driven by another worker, struck him in the leg.
The man, who wasn’t named, had to be taken to a hospital and it turned out that he had a compound leg fracture. Later, OSHA investigated.
They not only cited this company $84,000 for various safety violations, they determined that the aisles in the work area where this happened were too narrow for the forklift to be moved safely. They also claimed that the forklift wasn’t properly maintained. According to the area director for OSHA:
Allowing defective forklifts to operate in a workplace puts employees at risk of being struck or crushed by these vehicles. For the well-being of its employees, Tomra must correct these hazards and ensure they do not occur again.
A copy of their investigation can be found here.
Map of Tomra NY Recycling
Commentary:
I’m glad that this company was held accountable (in some way, at least) for their negligence, but frankly speaking, an $84,000 fine isn’t generally a large sum of money to most sizable companies. To them, it’s more of a slap on the wrist, hardly enough to make them change their ways and seriously re-consider how well they follow OSHA’s safety regulations.
This is where I really disagree with the state of affairs regarding employers, because I think the law affords them too much protection and doesn’t allow for any accountability in civil court — which is the way everything else in America works. It’s great that businesses and employers are given a little leeway to create jobs, stimulate the economy, and help people, but that can’t come at the cost of unsafe worksites and people getting hurt.
— Grossman Law Offices
