Forklift accidents killed 97 US workers in 2024, OSHA data shows

By Elena Vasquez

Forklift accidents killed 97 workers across the United States in 2024, according to an analysis of the most recent Occupational Safety and Health Administration (OSHA) data released by material handling equipment provider Intella Parts.

How did the 97 fatalities break down?

Intella Parts sorted the deaths into six incident categories:

• Struck-by collisions: 23 deaths (about 24% of the total)
• Caught, crushed, or pinned: 22 deaths (about 23%)
• Falling loads or materials: 20 deaths (about 21%)
• Forklift overturns: 14 deaths (about 14%)
• Falls from elevation: 14 deaths (about 14%)
• Electrical contact or electrocution: 3 deaths (about 3%)
• Other mechanism: 1 death

That spread signals a workplace problem extending well beyond the operator's cab. Warehouses, distribution centers, and manufacturing floors remain the highest-exposure environments, with material handling operations absorbing the bulk of prevention spending across the logistics sector.

How many deaths occurred off the operator?

The 97 fatalities work out to roughly 8 per month, or one every 3.7 days across U.S. industry. Service activity emerged as a particularly deadly window. Intella Parts identified 21 deaths — about 22% of the annual total — that occurred during maintenance, repairs, inspections, loading preparation, or other service-related work.

Those service deaths clustered around four recurring failure points: equipment left unsecured before teardown, stored energy not properly controlled before technician entry, elevated components left unblocked against gravity, and unexpected movement once a mechanic began work on the machine.

What does OSHA expect of operators and shippers?

The analysis lands as warehouse operators and third-party logistics providers face escalating federal enforcement on powered industrial trucks. Intella Parts recommends four controls: separating pedestrian foot traffic from forklift routes, erecting exclusion zones around moving equipment and elevated loads, verifying load stability before each lift, and inspecting travel routes for slopes, edges, and obstructions before shifts begin.

Technical retrofits complement those controls. Warning lights, audible alarms, and proximity sensors can reduce struck-by incidents — the single largest fatality category — but only when paired with task-specific operator training, written safe operating procedures, and a documented near-miss investigation program.

"These incidents show that forklift hazards extend far beyond the operator's seat," said Marcel VandenTop, President of Intella Parts. "Many of the fatalities involved pedestrians, maintenance personnel, workers handling materials and employees working around forklifts. Preventing these tragedies requires a comprehensive approach to workplace safety."

What does the data miss about operator focus?

Operator certification remains the dominant OSHA requirement, and most warehouse training budgets mirror that priority. Yet the 97 fatalities spread across hazards that reach far beyond the seat. Struck-by collisions killed 23 workers, caught/crushed/pinned incidents killed 22, and falling loads killed another 20 — categories that VandenTop attributes heavily to "pedestrians, maintenance personnel, workers handling materials and employees working around forklifts."

Falls from elevation killed 14 more, a category that often involves workers on the forks or load platform rather than seated at the wheel. Overturns accounted for another 14.

"Operator training remains essential, but it's only one piece of the puzzle," VandenTop said. "Employers must also protect mechanics, contractors, pedestrians and anyone else who works around forklifts, even if they never operate the equipment themselves."

For compliance officers weighing enforcement priorities, the math is uncomfortable. Of the 97 deaths, the 21 service-related cases alone represent more than one in five fatalities that occurred without an operator conducting normal lift work.

Where will regulatory pressure head next?

For distribution operators weighing capital spending for 2025, the Intella Parts analysis positions pedestrian segregation, lockout/tagout during service, and active proximity detection as the highest-leverage investments.

The 97 deaths — concentrated in struck-by, crushing, and falling-load events — point to enforcement risks extending well beyond operator certification, with 21 service-related fatalities and the 23 struck-by deaths pointing toward stricter pedestrian and maintenance oversight across warehouses and distribution centers.