Accident caused by forklift forks left up - GIF

[Crusty]

Situational awareness when operating heavy equipment is mandatory. If I operate my equipment such that it could lead to someone being injured then I'm at fault because part of my responsibility is to protect others who aren't as aware. Yes the woman wasn't paying enough attention but operators are required to anticipate that lack of awareness and take protective measures. A common forklift safety practice is to keep the forks as close to the ground as possible and a jury would find that the operator was at fault in that incident because equipment operators are held to a higher standard of safety than the general public.