Virginia Injury Lawyer Blog

Western Virginia man dies in forklift accident at work

Matt Megginson of Greenville in western Virginia died Friday in a forklift accident that has drawn the attention of state labor investigators, the News Virginian of Waynesboro reported Monday.

Megginson, 27, was operating a forklift at Burris Logistics in Lyndhurst when he was apparently pinned by the machine after losing control of it, the newspaper said.

The Virginia Department of Labor and Industry could take as long as six months to investigate the accident. A department spokeswoman told the newspaper that officials will want to learn if there were any health violations of Virginia Occupational and Safety rules.

In 2007, 23 people were killed in workplace accidents involving contact with workplace equipment and objects, according to the Department of Labor and Industry’s Web site – 16 percent of workplace deaths in Virginia.

Nationwide in 2008, 299 people were killed at work when they were “caught in or compressed by equipment or objects,” The News Leader of Staunton reported, citing the U.S. Department of Labor’s Bureau of Labor Statistics.

Megginson was a Tennessee native who had recently married his longtime girlfriend, Lindsey Lowery Megginson, according to his obituary in the News Virginian.

"I didn't think anything like this would ever happen," Darren McIntire a friend who threw Megginson’s bachelor party, told The News Leader. "I know it's going to be hard." McIntire was to serve as a pallbearer at the funeral.

Burris Logistics, based in Chesapeake, bills itself as a provider of “supply chain solutions” and is a large shipper and warehouser of refrigerated food.

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Labels: accident Burris Logistics Darren McIntire forklift Greenville Lyndhurst Matt Megginson