Can You Sue For a Forklift Accident?

An attorney can help you understand your legal options if you’ve been injured

Many construction sites, warehouses, factories, and other workplaces in New York require employees to operate forklifts to move or lift large objects that people could not otherwise move from one place to another. Unfortunately, forklift accidents sometimes occur at work. When they do, injured forklift workers deserve to be compensated for their financial losses.

So, how does the compensation process work if you were injured in a forklift accident? Can you file a lawsuit to pay for your accident-related expenses? Who can you sue? How much time do you have to take legal action? And what other funding options exist for forklift injury victims, especially in New York?

If you or a loved one has been injured in a New York forklift accident, it’s important that you fully understand your rights and legal options. Our New York City workers’ compensation attorneys at Pasternack Tilker Ziegler Walsh Stanton & Romano LLP have an in-depth understanding of how the system works and are here to help.

How common are forklift accidents?

Unfortunately, forklift accidents are fairly common. Each year on average, there are more than 20,000 forklift accidents that result in work-related injuries that require injured workers to miss work to rest and recover, according to the most recent data collected by the U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics (BLS).

Those 20,000 work-related forklift injuries include cases the BLS classifies as either Days Away from Work (DAFW), Days of Job Transfer or Restriction (DJTR), and Days Away from Work, Job Restriction, or Transfer (DART) cases.

More than 60 percent of these cases involve DAFW incidents due to forklift injuries. The average number of DART days due to a forklift injury is 22 days of missed work, according to the National Safety Council (NSC). That’s more than three weeks of not working due to a forklift accident. In addition, roughly 70 people die each year in fatal forklift accidents, according to BLS workplace accident data.

What are the common causes of forklift accidents?

Forklift accidents occur for a wide range of reasons. Some of the most common causes of serious forklift accidents include:

Operator error, especially if the forklift operator does not know how to use a forklift safely.
Objects lifted by forklift not properly balanced or secured, causing the objects to fall from the forklift and injure someone.
Miscommunication between the forklift operator and other employees, resulting in a collision or a worker being hit by a forklift.
Falling objects struck by forklifts, especially in warehouses.
Speeding forklift operator who loses control of the forklift.
Inexperienced forklift operator who does not know how to operate a forklift safely.
Forklift parked on an uneven surface, causing the forklift to tip or fall over.
Poorly maintained forklift that causes an accident.

What are common forklift accident injuries?

The average forklift weighs over 9,000 pounds and can travel as fast as 18 mph. When these workplace vehicles hit or run over someone, serious injuries often occur. Some of the most common – and most serious – forklift injuries include:

Traumatic brain injuries (TBIs), especially if a forklift hits someone’s head or causes the worker to fall over.

Internal injuries, including internal bleeding or organ damage, often due to being hit or crushed by a forklift or falling objects.
Spinal cord injuries and back injuries.
Broken bones and bone fractures, especially in the arms and legs.
Deep cuts and lacerations.
Chronic pain and soreness, which can last weeks, months, or even longer due to a serious forklift injury.

Seeking compensation for a forklift accident

Depending on the circumstances of your forklift accident, you may be eligible to receive one or more different types of financial compensation for your forklift injury in New York. Such compensation often includes:

Worker’s compensation, a type of insurance that most employers in New York are required to have in the event of workplace injury. Workers’ compensation normally pays for the cost of medical care, lost wages, and other accident-related expenses.
One-time settlement offer to pay for accident-related expenses.
Financial award in response to a verdict in favor of the forklift injury victim who filed a lawsuit seeking damages, the legal term for compensation for financial losses.

Can forklift injury victims file a lawsuit seeking damages?

The short answer? It depends. To file a lawsuit or take legal action seeking compensation for a forklift accident, the injury victim often must prove there is an at-fault party responsible for the accident. Examples of fault include:

Reckless actions that directly resulted in the forklift accident.
Negligent behavior, which often means that the at-fault party failed to address a known hazard (for example, forklift’s brakes did not work) that resulted in the injury accident.
Design flaw or production error associated with the manufacturing of the forklift, a specific type of legal case often known as a product liability case.

Can I sue my employer for my forklift accident?

In most cases, no. Most people injured in a work-related forklift accident in New York often cannot file a lawsuit against their employer. This is because most injured workers receive compensation from their employer in the form of workers’ compensation benefits.

However, in certain circumstances, injured workers may be able to take legal action against their employer and obtain additional compensation on top of their workers’ compensation benefits. Examples of possible reasons why someone may be able to file a lawsuit against their employer after a forklift accident include:

Gross negligence by the employer, meaning the business displayed a blatant disregard for their employees’ safety and well-being, which directly caused the forklift accident.
Falsifying records to avoid legal responsibility for the forklift accident. For example, an employer might change the maintenance date, falsify inspection reports, or destroy video evidence showing that the forklift accident occurred due to gross negligence.

Other specific situations may apply, allowing you to file a forklift accident lawsuit against your employer. The best way to know your legal options is to talk to an attorney as soon as possible.

Who can forklift injury victims sue for compensation?

If you cannot take legal action against your employer for your forklift accident, you may be able to file a lawsuit against another business, depending on the circumstances of your forklift injury. In general, these types of lawsuits are known as third-party lawsuits since the at-fault party is someone other than your employer.

Examples of who you may be able to take legal action against in a third-party lawsuit in response to your forklift injury include:

Another company working at the same place that caused your forklift accident. This situation is especially common at construction sites, where multiple companies often work at the same place at the same time.
Forklift manufacturer, especially if a design flaw or manufacturer error directly caused your forklift accident.

How long do forklift injury victims have to file a lawsuit in New York?

In general, forklift injury victims in New York have three (3) years from the date of the injury accident to file a lawsuit and take legal action against the at-fault party. This deadline is known as the statute of limitations.

Three years might seem like a long time. However, the reality is that the longer injury victims wait to take legal action, the more difficult it often becomes to find the evidence they need to build a strong legal case. For example, physical evidence (damaged forklift) may be lost or destroyed. Witnesses who saw what happened might forget or be difficult to locate.

This is why forklift injury victims must talk to a lawyer as soon as possible who can help them better understand their legal options, including whether or not to file a lawsuit seeking damages.

Why should I hire a New York City workers’ compensation attorney?

Forklift injury accidents in New York can quickly turn into complicated legal cases. This is especially true if you may be able to obtain additional financial compensation in the form of a lawsuit on top of your workers’ compensation benefits.

Our New York City workers’ compensation lawyers at Pasternack Tilker Ziegler Walsh Stanton & Romano LLP know exactly how the legal system works in the state when it comes to such complex cases. As your attorney, we can meet with you, answer your questions, and explain in detail all the potential legal options available to you.

Get the New York City law firm that fights for forklift injury victims. Contact us and schedule an appointment with a New York City workplace injury attorney focused on winning your case. We have 12 offices conveniently located in New York, including five offices in New York City.

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