Forklifts, in all their various shapes and sizes, are used in many of our industrial worksites here in Illinois and Indiana. The need to protect workers against the hazards that come with these popular industrial trucks is extremely important, since forklift accidents can easily be catastrophic or deadly. Read, Forklift Accidents: Serious and Deadly Industrial Truck Injuries on the Job.
June 9: National Forklift Safety Day
This month, safety organizations, government agencies, and those advocating for worker victims and their loved ones will be participating in the annual National Forklift Safety Day on June 9, 2026. Sponsored by the Industrial Truck Association (“ITA”), there will be a livestream program from the nation’s capital that will include speakers and panelists from ITA as well as the Occupational Safety and Health Administration (“OSHA”) and several of the nation’s leading forklift manufacturers. See, “Expert Lineup Revealed for National Forklift Safety Day,” released by the Industrial Truck Association on May 27, 2026 on PRNewswire.
As ITA President Brian Feehan explains:
“As the material handling landscape rapidly adopts new technologies and automated solutions, the human element remains our most critical asset. Hosting the 13th annual National Forklift Safety Day allows our industry to realign on the fundamentals: comprehensive operator education and proactive daily equipment checks. Safety cannot be a secondary priority; it must be incorporated directly into the culture of every warehouse, manufacturing floor and distribution center across the country.”
Forklifts on Illinois and Indiana Worksites
Small motor vehicles designed specifically to help workers move, stack, load, or stage various materials are needed in all sorts of industries. Warehouses, factories, construction projects, road work, ports, rail terminals, big-box stores, distribution centers, food processing plants, and steel mills can all be found employing workers to operate forklifts on a daily basis, such as:
- Warehouses will need forklifts for things like pallet handling and order picking;
- Factories use them to move raw materials and finished goods;
- Distribution centers will need forklifts for cross-docking and racking;
- Construction sites will be busy with one or more forklifts moving building materials and pallets around the job;
- Ports and terminals need them for loading and unloading, as well as for logistical stuff like container staging; and
- Big-box stores will use forklifts for replenishing stock.
Of course, not every worksite has the same needs and different industrial trucks will be used in different places. Forklifts come in all shapes and sizes, and the operator will need to have specialized training to drive each type of industrial truck as well as how to maneuver them in their particular use. It is against the law for anyone under the age of 18 years to operate a forklift, and it is also illegal for anyone over the age of 18 years to operate a powered industrial truck without proper training and certification. See, Powered Industrial Trucks – Forklifts, published by OSHA.
Forklift types include the following:
- Counterbalance
- Heavy duty
- High capacity
- Order picker
- Pallet jack
- Reach truck
- Rough terrain
- Side loader
- Telehandler
- Turret
- Walkie stacker.
The variety is necessary because of the tasks at hand. A counterbalance, for example, may be found busily moving up to 15,000 pounds of cargo in a local warehouse or loading dock, but it will not meet the needs that a heavy-duty forklift does at one of our steel mills or ports, where heavy loads of up to 100,000 pounds will need to be moved around the worksite.
To see examples of different types of forklifts, read “Forklift Types Guide: Uses, Features, & Power Options,” written by Waheed Riaz and published by HSEBlog on July 28, 2025.
Safety Regulations to Protect Workers From Severe Forklift Accidents
Essentially, worksites depend upon these industrial trucks to move, lift, and stack all sorts of things. They are powerful by design and accordingly, are seriously regulated by OSHA through our respective State Plans as well as provided safety guidance by various industrial standards.
Operators need proper training. Each forklift needs to be inspected and maintained and repaired as needed.
Here in Illinois and Indiana, there are dealers and service companies that help with both training and equipment support. Larger operations here may have their own in-house forklift services.
OSHA Regulations include:
- 29 CFR 1910 Subpart N: Materials Handling and Storage, including 1910.178, Powered Industrial Trucks
- 29 CFR 1917 Subpart C and 1918 Subpart G: Maritime, including 1917.43, Powered Industrial Trucks; 1917.44, General rules applicable to vehicles; 1917.50, certification of devices; 1918.65, mechanically-powered vehicles used aboard vessels.
And, of course, there are related safety regulations here for things like the right personal protective equipment for the forklift operator to have (29 CFR 1910.132); communication of hazards on the site that are needed when the forklift is used to move hazardous materials, etc. (29 CFR 1910.1200); and general housekeeping requirements on an industrial worksite (29 CFR 1910.22).
For more, read Industrial Housekeeping and Construction Site Accidents; Workplace Housekeeping and Serious Accidents on the Job: Duty of Care; and Housekeeping in Warehouses: Work Accident Dangers in Illinois and Indiana.
Forklift Accident Injuries and Injury Claims for Workers Hurt in Industrial Truck Accidents
Different worksites and different forklifts combine to create all sorts of hazards facing workers on the job here in Illinois and Indiana. Bodily harm can happen with life-altering consequences in a matter of seconds after things like tip overs or rollovers when the forklift turns too fast or is being driven with an uneven load. An unsecure platform can cause a tragic and sometimes deadly fall. There can be collisions with other vehicles on the site, or with structures (scaffolds, racks, etc.). Dropped loads off an industrial truck can hurt several workers seriously, alongside the forklift operator. Read: Alert, N. I. O. S. H. “Preventing injuries and deaths of workers who operate or work near forklifts.” DHHS publication 2001-109 (1998).
After a serious forklift accident, the worker victim will be able to file for workers’ compensation benefits under the employer’s workers’ compensation insurance policy. However, there may be other third parties who have contributed to what happened and they may have legal liability to the worker victim for damages (as well as to the worker’s loved ones, think spouse and dependent children).
Third party liability for forklift accident damages may be found after expert analysis to include:
- Forklift Manufacturer
- Forklift Distributor
- Parts Suppliers or Designers
- Attachment Suppliers or Designers
- Contracting Companies Who Performed Forklift Inspection, Maintenance, or Repair
- Rental Company Providing the Industrial Truck
- Property or Premises Owners and Managers
- Contractors or Subcontractors
- Drivers of Other Vehicles Involved in Collision.
Any worker tasked with working near a forklift on the job, as well as anyone authorized to operate a powered industrial truck, faces the very real danger of being struck or crushed by the forklift itself or the material that is being maneuvered by it. All too often, in a busy industrial environment, workers are not adequately warned of these risks with horrific results.
Warns the National Institute for Occupational Safety and Health (NIOSH):
Most fatalities occur when a worker is crushed by a forklift that has overturned or fallen from a loading dock. NIOSH investigations of forklift-related deaths indicate that many workers and employers (1) may not be aware of the risks of operating or working near forklifts and (2) are not following the procedures set forth in the Occupational Safety and Health Administration (OSHA) standards, consensus standards, or equipment manufacturer’s guidelines.
Also see:
- Forklift Accidents: Employer’s Duty to Keep Workers Safe in Indiana and Illinois
- New 2026 BLS Study: Fatal Work Accident Warnings for Construction Workers
- Are There Civil Claims for Damages Against Third-Parties for Your Work Accident?
Forklifts zip through our warehouses, mini mills, construction sites, and factories all the time, and workers are used to their comings and goings. The dangers remain, and workers can be severely hurt or killed in a forklift accident that is later found to have been entirely preventable if regulations and standards had been respected. Please be careful out there!
