Saturday, April 21, 2018

Danny Ray Koster, a 60-year old employee of the Atlas Welding Supply Co. in Tuscaloosa, Alabama died after he was trapped under an overturned forklift and went into cardiac arrest








Danny Ray Koster


TUSCALOOSA - Danny Ray Koster, of Tuscaloosa, Ala., passed away April 16, 2018 in Tuscaloosa, Ala. Services will be 11 a.m. Saturday, April 21, 2018, at Little Sandy Baptist Church in Duncanville, Ala. with Dr. D.J. Horton officiating. Burial will follow in the adjoining cemetery with Tuscaloosa Memorial Chapel directing. Visitation will be one hour prior to services. 


He was preceded in death by his parents, John Carl Koster and Mary Frances Koster; and brother, James Carl Koster. 


Survivors include his wife, Shirley Diane Koster of Tuscaloosa, Ala.; sons, John William Koster (Stephanie) and Jeffrey Daniel Koster (Paige), both of Tuscaloosa, Ala.; sister, Frances Elaine Shealy; brother, John Wayne Koster; and grandchildren, Korben, Wyatt and Rose Koster.


Mr. Koster was born in Tuscaloosa and attended Holt High School. He started working at Koster Radiator in 1971 at the age of 12. He ran and operated the shop as a partner for over 30 years until it was sold. He was married over 40 years to his wife, Shirley.


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By Stephanie Taylor / Staff Writer


Posted Apr 18, 2018 at 2:58 PM Updated Apr 18, 2018 at 9:59 PM


Tuscaloosa, AL:
 
Officials are investigating the death of an Atlas Welding employee who died on the job Monday.

Tuscaloosa Fire and Rescue Service paramedics responded to a 911 call that a man was trapped under a forklift that had flipped Monday afternoon. Firefighters arrived to find that the man, 60, was in cardiac arrest, said Fire Marshal Gene Holcomb, a TFRS spokesman.

The forklift had been removed before firefighters’ arrival. Crews briefly treated the man at the business, in the 3500 block of Greensboro Avenue, before he was taken to DCH Regional Medical Center and pronounced dead.

An Occupational Safety and Health Administration investigation and autopsy by the Alabama Department of Forensic Sciences will be conducted.

Atlas Welding Supply Co. President Bill Visintainer issued a statement Wednesday.

“On Monday, April 16, an employee of Atlas sustained a fatal injury as a result of an accident involving the operation of a forklift,” he said. “We are fully cooperating with local and state officials on the investigation into the incident. Our thoughts and prayers go out to the family and friends of our employee. We care about our employees, and we care about the community. We are committed to operating our facility in a safe and responsible fashion.”



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The Occupational Safety and Health Administration is investigating after an employee at a Tuscaloosa company died in a forklift accident Monday.

Atlas Welding Supply Co., located on Greensboro Avenue in Tuscaloosa, was the site of the incident involving a forklift. Tuscaloosa Fire Marshal Gene Holcomb said an employee got trapped under a forklift, then went into cardiac arrest. The 60-year-old man’s name has not been released.





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OSHA estimates forklifts cause about 85 fatal accidents per year; 34,900 accidents result in serious injury; and 61,800 are classified as non-serious. According to the Industrial Truck Association, there are about 855,900 forklifts in the U.S. Therefore, over 11% of all forklifts will be involved in some type of accident each year (assuming only one accident per forklift).
The ITA also reports that the useful life of a lift truck is about 8 years. This means that about 90% of all forklifts will be involved in some type of accident during their useful life--again assuming only one accident per forklift. If you operate this equipment, there is a possibility that you may have an accident at some point during your career. To help reduce the possibility of being injured, it's important to understand where and how these accidents occur.


Fatal forklift accident causes and where they occur:




Fatal Accident Type


Crushed by vehicle tipping over
42%


Crushed between vehicle and a surface
25%


Crushed between two vehicles
11%

Struck or run over by a forklift
10%



Struck by falling material
8%


Fall from platform on the forks
4%



Where fatalities occur
Manufacturing
42.5%

 Wholesale trades
12.5%
Retail trade
9.0%

Construction
23.8%

Transportation
11.0%

Mining
1.2%


Preventing these accidents:
 
Studies show that many of these accidents could have been prevented by better training. No one starts out with the innate knowledge, skills, and abilities to safely operate a forklift. As OSHA requires, drivers must be properly trained to do so. The lesson to be learned is, operating a forklift without training is dangerous and can even be fatal to you or other employees working in the area.


Training can also prevent or reduce the severity of an accident related to the stability of a lift truck traveling with an elevated load. Keep the load as low as possible to increase vehicle stability and to help prevent tip-over accidents. Even if drivers ignore this rule, and the vehicle tips over, injuries are usually minor if they stay with the vehicle instead of jumping off. The normal tendency is for a person to jump downward, so the driver lands on the floor or ground--usually directly into the path of the overhead guard. 







The most common result is a crushing injury to the head, neck, or back where the overhead guard strikes the employee.

42% of forklift fatalities are caused by the operator trying to jump from a tipping vehicle. To keep this from happening to you, always remember to keep the load as low as possible and stay with the vehicle if it tips over. Wearing your seat belt is the best safety measure!


Concern for pedestrians should also be of top priority for forklift operators and their employer. Many of the reported forklift workplace incidents involve non-drivers – so called pedestrians. Having their feet run over by careless forklift drivers account for 20% of these injuries and 16% occur when pedestrians are struck and crushed by operator recklessness.


A few things that forklift operators can do to increase workplace safety are:


1. Practice driving safely.
2. Never allow riders on your lift truck.
3. Only handle loads within your lift’s capacity.
4. Always stay under the overhead guard.
5. Always wear a seat belt.
6. Be aware of pedestrians walking in or near your work area.
7. Make certain man baskets are securely attached to the mast and/or forks.
8. Never travel employees in the man basket throughout the jobsite. Only minor repositioning is allowed with employees in the basket.
 

Pedestrians also have responsibilities to insure their own safety around material handling equipment. They should:

1. Be aware of forklift routes through the job site.
2. Look and listen for forklift warning lights and alarms.
3. Be cognizant that a forklift may suddenly appear around a blind corner.
4. Never walk under an elevated load.
 

If we all act together to minimize unfortunate incidents at work, we can avoid becoming a forklift accident statistic.