Breaking News: Crane Operator Cited in the January Death of a Worker at an Industrial Site in Davidson, N.C.

Davidson, North Carolina — July 24, 2024 — According to the Charlotte Observer, state inspectors have cited a crane operator in the January death of a worker at an industrial site.

According to the North Carolina Department of Labor officials, Indiana-based CraneWerks Inc. lacked standard procedures for keeping workers safely away when using a forklift to unload massive steel I-beams from a flatbed trailer, according to a copy of the citation obtained by The Charlotte Observer.

According to the citation, CraneWerks employees were unloading two 40-foot-long, 8,788-pound I-beams with a forklift at a job site at 800 Beaty Street on January 12, 2024. The I-beams became entangled on the truck as they were delivered to the site.

Officials said that the employee who died was standing on the trailer beside one of the beams and was trying to guide the forklift operator on where to place the forks to lift the beam. As the forklift operator lifted one of the beams to free it from the other, one rolled onto the worker, causing the employee and the beam to fall to the ground. The employee was not named in the citation.

CraneWerks was cited for one alleged serious violation of the Occupational Safety and Health Act of North Carolina. Money penalties are included in the act, with $16,131 being the maximum penalty for each serious violation, said Erin Wilson, communications director for the N.C. Department of Labor. “The General Statutes say the Labor Department has to consider various factors such as the gravity of the violations, the size of the business, the good faith of the employer, and history of previous violations,” Wilson said in an email. “The penalties are in no way designed to make up for the loss of life,” Wilson said.

Our thoughts are with the friends, family, and relatives of the worker killed in this preventable workplace accident.

The Ramsay Law Firm has attorneys who are Board Certified in Workers’ Compensation claims to help individuals with severe injuries and death claims.

A Voice For The Injured. Here Every Step of The Way. Call 704-376-1616 or contact us online.

Notes: Our team created this post using secondary sources and has not independently verified all the facts surrounding the accident. If you find any incorrect details, please contact the Ramsay Law Firm so we can update the post with the most accurate information. This post will be removed if requested.

Disclaimer: The information provided in this post is not intended to be legal or medical advice and is not a solicitation for business. The photograph used in this post is not representative of this accident. If you are injured in an accident, seek medical attention immediately, then speak to a North Carolina personal injury lawyer as soon as possible.