Granite Installation Company Owner Struck by Falling Granite Slab, Kentucky

SUMMARY

On Thursday, May 14, 2015, a clear and windy spring morning, a male company owner and a male forklift operator were unloading slabs of granite from a delivery truck. The forklift operator was unloading the slabs with a forklift equipped with a boom and a clamp designed to move the granite. The owner (victim) walked by the forklift to the area where the granite was to be stored. The forklift operator gently set the granite next to the victim who was standing directly in the middle of the large piece of granite guiding it into place (within the fall shadow zone). Once the granite was on the ground, the clamp automatically released. The granite shifted, striking the victim in the head and pinning him under the 1000 lb. granite slab. At the time of the incident, the wind speed was 15.0 mph and a gust of wind registered at 21.9 mph from the east. Weather could have been a factor in this fatality.

The forklift driver, delivery driver, and another employee tried to remove the granite from the victim; EMS was immediately called and arrived within minutes. The victim was declared dead at the scene.

Granite Installation Company Owner Struck by Falling Granite Slab, Kentucky [PDF 1,702 KB]