Forklift catches on fire in workplace accident

When there is a workplace injury, many times the work safety authorities are called in to assess the situation. They will be looking to see if there were any safety violations that could have caused an accident at a workplace in Massachusetts or in any other state. This is what happened after a recent workplace accident that involved a forklift catching on fire.

The incident happened late August at a processing plant operated by Ocean Spray Cranberries, Inc. Apparently a forklift had somehow caught on fire and began to fill the plant up with smoke. Officials were forced to evacuate the processing plant just shortly after 7 a.m. One 57-year-old woman was sent to a nearby hospital in order to treat her for smoke inhalation.

The identity of the victim has yet to be released by the authorities to the public. Also, the Occupational Safety and Health Administration (OSHA), which had arrived on the scene, has yet to determine what may have caused the forklift to catch on fire. OSHA is now continuing its investigation and will be looking to see if there were any safety violations occurring at the workplace. The victim reportedly did not suffer any injuries that were considered life-threatening.

If the company is found to have been guilty of workplace safety violations, it can result in serious fines and possibly other penalties. On the other hand, actions by OSHA may be able to change what the company does in the future. However, it cannot take back what happened due to the recent workplace accident. The woman who was hospitalized will now be facing significant medical bills. She may want to consider filing for workers’ compensation benefits, which is an option available for anybody in Massachusetts who may have been injured at work.

Source: wickedlocal.com, “Fire injures woman at Ocean Spray factory“, Alice Elwell, Aug. 31, 2014