Intella Parts Company has published a new blog post analyzing forklift-related fatalities reported by OSHA between 2017 and 2024. The report offers critical insights into the most common causes of fatal accidents involving forklifts and pallet jacks in the United States.
The blog post, titled “What 317 Forklift Deaths Taught Us—And How To Avoid The Same Mistakes” dives into several years of publicly available OSHA incident data. The analysis revealed that most fatal incidents stemmed from preventable causes—such as workers being crushed, struck, or falling from elevated platforms.
Key findings from the Intella analysis include:
- Texas led the nation with 48 forklift-related fatalities.
- The most common causes of death included crushing/pinning, struck-by incidents, falls from height, and overturned forklifts.
- Many incidents involved a lack of safety training, poor pedestrian separation, or failure to follow standard procedures.
“We wanted to go beyond surface-level statistics and really understand where these accidents are happening and why,” said Marcel VandenTop from Intella Parts. “The results were clear: these tragedies are largely preventable with the right training and safeguards in place.”
The post also outlines practical strategies for employers to reduce risks, such as reinforcing operator certification, separating foot traffic from forklift zones, and conducting regular equipment inspections.
