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WI Worker Killed Changing Light Bulb

Monday, June 4, 2012

More items for Health & Safety

Authorities are investigating the death of a Wisconsin worker at a steel fabrication facility who apparently suffered a fatal fall while changing a light bulb.

Marvin Koss, 57, was killed Thursday morning when he fell from a forklift at Steel Structures, of Wausau, WI, police said.

OSHA

OSHA and the Industrial Truck Association conduct a forklift safety training workshop. Police said Koss had been reaching for a light from a bucket on a forklift that was parked on a flatbed.

Witnesses said Koss had been standing in a bucket or platform positioned on the forklift’s forks while the forklift was parked on the deck of a flatbed truck. The wheels of the forklift somehow rolled off the flatbed, and Koss was thrown to the ground, police said.

By the time police and paramedics were called about 9 a.m., Koss had no pulse and was not breathing. The coroner later said Koss had died from a blow to the head.

The Occupational Safety and Health Administration was investigating.

The company declined to discuss the accident Monday (June 4).

Comment from Bill Connor, Jr., (6/5/2012, 6:02 AM)

And the fork lift wasn't chained down. The bigger question is why they were using a lift that was not suited for the job. Wrong tool fatal conclusion.

Comment from Gary Burke, (6/5/2012, 7:43 AM)

How sad that we still have careless things like this still happening! He paid for that little mistake in a great big way!

Comment from Anna Jolly, (6/5/2012, 9:37 AM)

Oh my, this was so senseless. There were so many things that could have prevented this fatality.

Comment from jesse chasteen, (6/5/2012, 10:31 AM)

The picture attachedtothis article shows many light fixtures . You would think the the company would have a scissor lift available for that type of maintenance .

Comment from Tom Schwerdt, (6/6/2012, 8:55 AM)

Standing in a bucket, which was on a forklift, which was on a truck. Definitely poor safety practices.

Comment from M. Halliwell, (6/7/2012, 10:27 AM)

Jesse, the picture is from a forklift training workshop and I suspect is not from the scene of the accident itself. Still, what were they thinking...or rather not thinking...in using this set-up to change a light? Another case of somebody getting dumb and somebody getting killed :(

Comment from Tom Schwerdt, (6/11/2012, 8:27 AM)

If you want to see a similar dumb move, hit up Google Images with the search term "forklift on a forklift"

Comment from James Johnson, (6/12/2012, 8:45 AM)

Too bad this article doesn't provide more information. It would seem to me someone had to be operating that forklift to raise and lower that fellow. Did that person step off the forklift and forget to set the brake? Was he distracted in some way? One sad part is that they did not tie down the lift truck so it could not move no matter what the operator did. Using combined equipment is probably not the best way, but most of us have done it a time or two. Some of us did it safely and some of us did not, but got lucky.