The state Occupational Safety and Health Division has concluded Tyrholm Big R Inc. was at fault for the death of 18-year-old warehouseman Shane Watson in November.
Watson, who had been on the job for two weeks, was crushed and killed Nov. 6 by a forklift that a driver had put in reverse at the Big R Distribution Center in White City.
Oregon OSHA has cited Big R for failing to ensure that employees and pedestrians working in the warehouse stayed out of the path of forklifts. It found the driver failed to ensure the path behind him was clear before putting the forklift in reverse. The victim also did not make his presence known when he walked up behind the forklift, according to the report.
The company, which sells garden and ranch equipment, has been fined $3,000 for the violations.
Big R plans to appeal the citation, said President Steven "Rok" Tyrholm. He declined to comment on OSHA's findings and on whether the forklift driver is still employed by the company.
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Jackson County District Attorney Mark Huddleston said he will not file charges against the driver, because there is no evidence he was under the influence of intoxicants or acted criminally.
There is no indication that the forklift driver lost his job because of the accident, said OSHA spokesman Kevin Weeks.
Watson's family could not be located for comment.
Watson and the forklift driver were receiving lawn chairs from a load that had come in the night before and preparing them for shipment when the accident occurred, according to the OSHA report.
After the morning break at about 10:30 a.m., the driver stepped onto the forklift to move some lawn chairs. As he began backing up the machinery, he looked over his right shoulder to check the distance from a pallet to some storage racks on the right side. He then looked over his left shoulder and saw Watson walking up the aisle toward the forklift, according to the report.
He shouted at Watson and made eye contact, the report stated. He tried to avoid the warehouseman by steering away and braking, but the forklift had pinned Watson against a warehouse rack on the left side of the aisle.
Other employees called 9-1-1, and cardiopulmonary resuscitation was performed. Watson was transported to Rogue Valley Medical Center, where he was pronounced dead on arrival.
The OSHA investigation found both men were trained for their jobs.
The driver said he did not check the forklift's brakes before that day's use, instead relying on how they operated the day before, according to the OSHA report. He said the brakes on the forklift were not in good condition. However, he did not note that the brakes were in poor condition on daily inspection sheets, which he filled out about 16 times before the accident.
A manager said the driver had never reported to him that the brakes were in bad condition.
The driver also erroneously believed the forklifts have the right of way, contrary to company policy, the report stated.
A week before the accident Watson had walked up behind a forklift operated by another driver without making his presence known, the report found. The driver/trainer said he advised Watson to notify drivers when he was coming up behind them. However, he did not report the incident to management.
The manager said there had been other incidents in which an employee had stepped out in front of operating machinery, but that the driver/trainer failed to report them until the third or fourth incident, the report said.
Reach reporter Paris Achen at 541-776-4459 or pachen@mailtribune.com.
