Terrible accident at work today

what a bummer of a day.
i dont know how many more accidents i can take including myself.
i lost a finger a couple years back. numerous stitches. things like that.

today a dude came real close to getting crushed to death and would have if he followed the safety rules and buckled in. for his defiance he only lost 4 fingers.
been there 4 months.

first, one of the major safety rules on tow motors is you are to be buckled in at all times and do not attempt to get out of the cab if it starts to tip.

this particular tow motor does not have a functioning seat belt. been broke for at least 7 months. so of course this guy is not strapped in.

he pulled some bars out of the pit and was backing up. turning as he was backing up. had his mast way too high and was still going back and the mast hit an overhead beam. that caused the tow motor to tip over towards its right side where it hit vertical beam and caved in the cage and then wound up flat on its side.

when i say caved in the cage i mean like it was the weakest # ever.
this is very unsettling because i and many others drive this all the time. daily. i would have thought the cage would have maybe bent a bit or something. nope. i a talking this thing folded in which is why if he had been buckled he would have bee dead.
so he starts to fall right and pushed off against the pillar of the cage some how to get out to the left and it all kind of folded in and got all his fingers.

Toyota was here looking at the tow motor. its on its side still all roped off.

just like this one

Can we say... lawsuit?

Don't you get a good chunk of $ for losing some digits?

a reply to: TinySickTears

Are they still going to use them? It's time for an OSHA visit!

originally posted by: eXia7
Can we say... lawsuit?

Don't you get a good chunk of $ for losing some digits?

if he pisses clean i would think he will walk away with a half a mill when it is all said and done. its going to be a rough road.
i got a good chunk but it took 2 years to get it.

originally posted by: JAGStorm
a reply to: TinySickTears

Are they still going to use them? It's time for an OSHA visit!

OSHA will be out for sure.
thats why it is roped off and laying as is.

they will take pictures and interview some of us.

that tow motor will not be in use any time soon.
probably a costly fix and theyre pretty rough already.

When did a forklift become a tow motor? Wth is a tow motor?

That roll bar from the picture looks like it's made from some sh#y pot metal. Doesn't look very heavy duty from that picture.

Drug test!

First thing that will happen.
Then comes the blame storming....

originally posted by: lakenheath24
When did a forklift become a tow motor? Wth is a tow motor?

some of us had his discussion when i talked about the last accident.

its a regional thing i guess. i dont know.

i live in ohio and every foundry and factory i have ever been in they have been called a tow motor.

a reply to: TinySickTears

Yup, tow motor

originally posted by: Bluntone22
Drug test!

First thing that will happen.
Then comes the blame storming....

thats why i said if he pisses clean

definitely a drug test

blame game is already going

originally posted by: Bluntone22
a reply to: TinySickTears

Yup, tow motor

Indiana right?

regional then

a reply to: TinySickTears

Yep, Indiana..

The broken seat belt is a million dollar prize for this guy.
Even if the accident was his fault or he was high, the company will lose because of the faulty safety gear.

Tow motor in VA back in the 80's. Pulled frozen food off reefer trucks parked on a bad slope. Sometimes the pallet starts sliding back and skates on it's own. Got buried in 30 # buckets of frozen strawberries once. Looked really gory but nobody got hurt.

Sorry about your co-worker and you losing a finger. I think I need all mine and would definitely miss any of them. If the guy tests positive for any illegal substances he gets the blame for the accident and no compensation. System is horrible on people who burn a little.

originally posted by: Bluntone22
a reply to: TinySickTears

Yep, Indiana..

The broken seat belt is a million dollar prize for this guy.
Even if the accident was his fault or he was high, the company will lose because of the faulty safety gear.

exactly what i said.
he has to be clean though

fault yes but still an accident. it was not negligence on his part.
he was not too high up for the weight he was too high up cause he went back too far.

# happens man

i dont know if he didnt realize how far back he had gone. he needed to lower the mast.

there is a lot going on though. lots of crew. cranes. few tow motors.
sometimes youre just a touch off.

but yeah the belt is going to pay him

a reply to: TinySickTears

Up in Michigan they're fork lifts or fork trucks.

I've operated many of those Yota lifts and safety seems to be the last feature they implement. They just aren't built for heavy industrial applications outside of lift capacity.

Here's an anecdote. I used to operate a Raymond side loader. 4 forks with a deck and used in a steel warehouse. Rows and rows of racks that went about 40' high. A band broke on a 6000# bundle of 3 inch round stock. Each bar weighting roughly 350 pounds. They came toppling down on top of my machine, about eight of them. Outside of some stained underwear and paint chipping, everything was good.

That's the difference between the right and wrong tool for the job.

a reply to: lakenheath24

Towmotor is a name for a forklift mfg company in Cleveland. Google is my friend.

Hope the guy is going to be ok. My brother in law lost four fingers in a 60-ton press. He still says to this day that sometimes he can feel them. Phantom pain I think is what they call it.

a reply to: TinySickTears

I have a giant scar across my back from a work accident. I learned very early on not to ever trust an employer regarding safety. I hope your coworker gets $$$

I'm sorry, but I have to ask, what kind of cheap a(( company can't afford to get a damn seat belt fixed, for 7 months?
And you have already sued them once? I would think OSHA would have shown up for that, why they heck don't they come back on a regular schedule now?

I'm asking all this, because up here in MI, (yep, fork lift), the jerks I used to work for, had one MINOR incident, and OSHA made them a regular stop, annually or bi annually. And pointed out every minor, seeming stupid thing they could, and wrote them up for it.

Are you union or something?

originally posted by: chiefsmom
I'm sorry, but I have to ask, what kind of cheap a(( company can't afford to get a damn seat belt fixed, for 7 months?
And you have already sued them once? I would think OSHA would have shown up for that, why they heck don't they come back on a regular schedule now?

I'm asking all this, because up here in MI, (yep, fork lift), the jerks I used to work for, had one MINOR incident, and OSHA made them a regular stop, annually or bi annually. And pointed out every minor, seeming stupid thing they could, and wrote them up for it.

Are you union or something?

they can afford it for sure.
theyre just cheap. i dont know what to say.

the owners and the board are not from this country and they operate at a whole different level.

i did not sue them. my accident and suit was at a different foundry.

no union. it was in motion in 2015 but they quashed it.
not exactly sure what happened.