Forklift Incident Drops LED Screen on Worker Killing Him

2011-08-08 - Thousand Oaks, California.  The owner of an LED video screen rental company was crushed and killed when the 1,500 pound screen fell from a fork lift while disassembling the unit after a show.  The incident occurred around 1:00 PM at Earl Warren Showgrounds after the weekend rodeo event.  Killed was 49 year old David Mann, owner of Jumbo Screen Company (www.jumboscreen.com).

This is an image of a similar 10' x 17' screen in use.  CalOSHA is investigating the incident and details of why the screen came loose from the fork lift are not available.  Other workers were able to lift the screen off of the victim before emergency crews could arrive, however, attempts to resuscitate the man were not successful.

Shown at right are workers surveying the damaged screen after emergency crews had transported Mr. Mann to a local hospital.

Notes for show workers:  Do NOT stand under heavy objects being lifted.  Be sufficiently far away from the object so that if they fall to the ground you will not be struck by it.  for vertically oriented objects, be outside of the height of the object so if it falls over you will not be crushed by it.  Secure your loads and double-check them.

OSHA Information regarding forklifts:
http://www.osha.gov/SLTC/poweredindustrialtrucks/index.html

Forklift Safety Guide (State of Illinois):
http://www2.illinoisbiz.biz/osha/PDF/Books/01%20Eng_Forklift.pdf

And a safety video (be patient - it starts out slow and builds to a really amazing ending):