Maison Law represents victims injured in forklift accidents at Home Depot. Forklifts are dangerous machines due to their size and weight, with the average forklift weighing around 9,000 pounds, according to Quality Material Handling.
So, when a forklift accident occurs, a person is highly susceptible to severe or fatal injury, requiring expensive medical bills and life alterations. To get the maximum compensation for your forklift injuries, contact Maison Law today for a cost-free, no-obligation consultation.
Should I Hire a Lawyer After a Forklift Accident at a California Home Depot?
While hiring a lawyer is not always necessary, speaking with a Personal Injury Lawyer can be beneficial, especially if your injury was due to negligence. Legal complexities can easily arise from a forklift accident at Home Depot because multiple parties may be at fault. Or, in worst cases, you can be blamed for the accident. So, it is recommended to consult with an attorney to avoid stress and ensure you’re rights are protected. An experienced attorney can:
- Connect you to trusted doctors for continued treatment
- File a lawsuit to get your compensation for your:
- Medical expenses
- Lost wages
- Pain and suffering
- Assign liability to all parties responsible for your injuries
- Communicate with insurance adjusters, so you can focus on recovering
- Build your case by gathering concrete evidence to confirm your claim
- Eliminate or reduce liability if you are blamed for the accident
- Negotiate a fair settlement
- Represent you in court if your case goes to trial
How Do You Prove Negligence in a Forklift Accident at Home Depot?
In California, everyone owes a “duty of care” to the people around them, even forklift drivers. According to Civil Code 1714, people are responsible for their actions and preventing their property from harming others. The statute states:
“Everyone is responsible, not only for the result of his or her willful acts, but also for an injury occasioned to another by his or her want of ordinary care or skill in the management of his or her property or person, except so far as the latter has, willfully or by want of ordinary care, brought the injury upon himself or herself. The design, distribution, or marketing of firearms and ammunition is not exempt from the duty to use ordinary care and skill that is required by this section. The extent of liability in these cases is defined by the Title on Compensatory Relief.”
So, to establish negligence caused your forklift accident, you would need to prove the following:
- Duty of care: Home Depot and its employees have a legal obligation to drive with caution and prevent any hazardous incidents that could injure someone
- Breach: the forklift operator failed to uphold their duty of care toward other people
- Cause: the forklift operator’s carelessness was a direct cause of the accident
- Damages: You suffered verifiable damages and incurred heavy losses due to the injuries sustained from the accident
Once liability is proven, you will need to verify your serious bodily injury. Serious bodily injuries in a forklift accident typically consist of:
- Physical pain
- Illness
- Impairment of bodily functions, organs, or any other injury to the body
These injuries can be verified in your car accident claim by a doctor’s diagnosis, x-rays, MRIs, and medical procedures.
Common Causes of Forklift Injuries
Many different factors lead to forklift injuries. However, the majority of forklift injuries can be attributed to a combination of human error and mechanical failure. The most common causes of forklift injuries include:
- Speeding: certain forklifts are capable of traveling at surprisingly high speeds. Extra caution is necessary when operating fast-traveling forklifts because speeding increases the likelihood of rollover crashes, especially when taking sharp turns. Speeding also presents a danger to workers outside of the vehicle as they may not be able to avoid a speeding forklift.
- Sudden Reversals: a sudden reversal can end up harming unsuspecting workers within proximity of the forklift. Forklift operators come to a stop and check their surroundings anytime they begin reversing.
- Miscommunication: poor communication is one of the leading causes of workplace hazards, according to OSHA. The route and where forklifts are operating should be communicated to every worker. Effective communication can help forklift operators and their coworkers avoid unfortunate collisions.
- Failed Maintenance: a forklift is only safe if routine maintenance is performed. It is the responsibility of the employer to ensure routine maintenance is performed or to provide training to their employees, so they can perform maintenance checks.
- Jumping off forklifts: when a forklift begins to tip over, many drivers’ first reaction is to jump off the vehicle. But jumping off a falling forklift is the last thing you want to do. It is much safer to remain inside the forklift as the driver’s seat cage is designed to shield drivers from injury.
- Improper use: when forklifts are used for anything other than lifting heavy cargo, accidents can ensue. If forklifts are used as makeshift ladders or cherry pickers, accidents are almost guaranteed.
- Poor training: sufficient operations and safety training can save lives. Forklift accidents can be severe and employers are responsible for providing all forklift operators with training.
Contact a Home Depot Forklift Accident Lawyer in California
If you or a loved one has been injured in a forklift accident at Home Depot, the Personal Injury Attorneys at Maison Law can help. While Home Depot is one of our favorite spots for home improvement, they must be responsible for compensating their customers if they cause them undue harm. Get experienced legal counsel on your side by contacting Maison Law today for a free consultation and case evaluation. We operate on a no-win, no-fee contingency basis. So, there are no charges unless we win your case.
