![]() “Even a slow-moving forklift can injure or kill yet too many employers are still failing to implement traffic management plans that separate forklifts from pedestrians with physical barriers, pedestrian exclusion zones, traffic lights and signage,” Dr Beer said. WorkSafe Executive Director of Health and Safety Narelle Beer said it was extremely disappointing to see so many employers fail to control the well-known risks associated with forklift use. In the past four years, eight people have died as a result of forklift incidents in the workplace, including being hit by forklift loads, falling from raised cages, and forklifts tipping over. On nine occasions workers were injured by poorly secured forklift loads that fell on them, and five people were injured when forklifts tipped over. The most common incidents included pedestrians being hit by forklifts, with 26 serious injury claims accepted in 2022, and operators injured getting on and off forklifts (23 claims). More than half of these claims were from forklift operators. In 2022, WorkSafe accepted 142 claims where the cause of injury was a forklift incident, with the transport, postal and warehousing industry accounting for the most claims (45), followed by manufacturing (35) and wholesale trade (32). ![]() More workplace injuries and deaths involve forklifts than any other type of equipment but can be avoided if employers put safety first and ensure their machinery and systems of work are fit for purpose. She then spent five months recovering from her surgery at home until the rest of her remaining limb was completely healed in January 2023.WorkSafe is reminding employers of the potentially deadly dangers posed by the unsafe use of forklifts as warehouses and factories ramp up work after the New Year break.įorklifts offer a practical way to lift and stack heavy loads but are also one of the most hazardous pieces of equipment found in Victorian workplaces. "She put the needle in and I could not feel it at all."įollowing her foot amputation on September 30 last year, Muralla stayed in hospital for a month and underwent a debris and a skin graft surgery, where they took skin from her wrist to cover her foot. "When the nurse unravelled my bandages and a doctor came to look at it he got very worried and went to grab a needle to put in my foot to check the blood flow," Muralla said. Muralla, who had only been working at the warehouse for around two months, said: "Once the ambulance came and a paramedic took off my sock I was hysterical."ĭuring her initial surgery, surgeons were able to save her foot from being amputated and said she had 'high hopes' for a strong recovery.īut after closer inspection of her foot in a check-up appointment two weeks later, the doctors discovered her wound bag had failed leaving Muralla with no choice but to have her foot amputated. Kennedy didn't realise the true extent of her injury until a paramedic removed her sock to reveal a three-inch laceration running from her big toe to her small toe across the arch of her foot. "The forklift was known to malfunction sometimes and glide." ![]() ![]() Muralla said: "I was coming out of one aisle and going into the next aisle - almost like a U-turn if you were driving," she said. She is now sharing her story to raise awareness about the amputee community after previously hiding her injury to show how normal life can still be. Horrifying images show half of her foot bruised and turning black after the doctors told her it was dead and needed to be removed. Muralla spent a month in hospital and underwent four major surgeries but was eventually forced to have her left foot amputated. She was then rushed to hospital in an ambulance where she underwent emergency surgery to 'save her foot'. Muralla said she went into complete shock and grabbed her colleague's belt to tie around her extremity to stop the bleeding whilst they waited for the emergency services. Kennedy shocking photo shows her shoe trapped between the pole and the edge of the forklift after pulling her limb free from the small crevice.
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