Working at a Chicago shipping facility, an employee suffered a leg amputation and crushed pelvis after he fell off and was then run over by a powered heavy-lift vehicle used to move and stack steel containers. The 30-year-old recent hire suffered injuries after being allowed to ride unsecured on the vehicle.

The U.S. Department of Labor’s Occupational Safety and Health Administration cited ITS Technologies and Logistics LLC – operating as ITS Conglobal – for one willful violation and two serious violations, and proposed penalties totaling $156,038.

OSHA investigators found the intermodal cargo container shipping facility allowed employees to ride unsecured on the reach stacker, in violation of company and OSHA safety procedures. Additionally, ITS Conglobal failed to provide employees refresher training or evaluate them every 3 years on their ability to safely operate powered industrial vehicles, as required.

“This worker’s life-altering injuries could have been prevented if ITS Conglobal had followed its own and federal safety regulations against employees riding improperly on moving powered industrial vehicles,” said OSHA Chicago South Area Director James Martineck. “Each year, hundreds of employees suffer injuries from powered industrial vehicle hazards and it remains one of OSHA’s top 10 cited safety standards. Employers must review and enforce workplace safety procedures.”

OSHA has specific regulations and required training for the operation of powered industrial vehicles. From 2011 to 2017, 614 workers lost their lives in forklift-related incidents and more than 7,000 nonfatal injuries with days away from work occurred every year.

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