Bizarre accident: Container of clams falls on worker, killing him
June 8, 2009 by Fred HosierPosted in: Bizarre Accident of the Week, Fatality, Forklift safety, In this week's e-newsletter, Latest News & Views
PDF A 20-year-old man has died from injuries he sustained when a container of clams fell on him at a food plant in Massachusetts.
Another employee had removed two containers from a stack using a forklift at Blount Fine Foods when the top container fell, hitting Justin Cordeiro, according to South Coast Today.
Cordeiro was taken to a hospital where he was later pronounced dead.
OSHA is investigating. There’s no word on whether Cordeiro was wearing a hard hat at the time of the incident.
Among the OSHA standards that would apply in this case:
- 1910.178(m)(2): No person shall be allowed to stand or pass under the elevated portion of any truck, whether loaded or unloaded.
- 1910.135(a)(1): The employer shall ensure that each affected employee wears a protective helmet when working in areas where there is a potential for injury to the head from falling objects.
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Tags: Blount Fine Foods, forklift, hardhat
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June 15th, 2009 at 12:59 pm
A hard hat can only protect you from an 8 lb. object being dropped from 5 feet. Even though wearing a hard hat is a prudent thing to do - it’s no match for a container of clams falling on top of your head! The young man (God rest his soul) should have never been walking underneath the forklift in the first place; as stated in above OSHA 1910.135(a)(1).
June 15th, 2009 at 3:26 pm
The article states a container of clams fell from the forklift load. This does not indicate the young man walked underneath a load. Therefore, the stated OSHA reg. would not apply.
June 15th, 2009 at 3:30 pm
Very sad. My heart goes out to this young mans family. The article doesn’t say that he was walking under the forks. The load could have been unbalanced, or the operator could have been moving too fast, turning with the load elevated, stopping too hard or any combination of mistakes. If it was operator error, that operator will have to live with it for the rest of his life.
June 15th, 2009 at 3:44 pm
That isn’t particularly bizarre. That the container was full of clams seems fairly irrelevant unless he was creamed by creamed clams. If he had been attacked by clams, well, that would have been bizarre…right up there with the attack of the vending machine.
June 17th, 2009 at 11:50 am
I agree, nothing bizzare about someone getting hit in the head by something falling from an elevated level and it’s like the old story told of the biker killed by being run over by the 18 wheeler; Trooper shaking his head that the biker wasn’t wearing his helmet. Like that would have made a difference, a container of industrial sized anything will leave a mark, if it lands on you and will probably leave a stain after they cart you off to the hospital or morgue. Not saying hard hats don’t have a purpose, just that they only carry you so far……..
December 3rd, 2009 at 4:43 pm
If anything I hope people take away from this experience not to get under a forklift that is lowering or moving objects. Same thing applies to people moving things around while on a ladder. If you are stablizing a buddy make sure you keep a safe distance and you are on the correct side of the ladder.