Mitchell Industrial Tire Co. Inc.
Outcome
Mitchell Industrial Tire Co. Inc. was cited for one willful and 11 serious OSHA violations and fined $288,299 after a forklift operator was struck and killed by a falling pallet of industrial tires in June 2024 at the Elm Mott, Texas distribution center due to improper rack storage and missing beam locks.
Details
Mitchell Industrial Tire Co. Inc. — Forklift Operator Killed by Falling Tire Pallet (2024)
Outcome: A forklift operator was struck and killed by a collapsing pallet of industrial tires in June 2024 at the Elm Mott, Texas distribution center; OSHA cited Mitchell Industrial Tire for one willful and 11 serious violations and proposed $288,299 in penalties for failure to train the operator and for improperly storing pallets exceeding 16 feet with damaged rack supports.
In June 2024, a forklift operator at Mitchell Industrial Tire Co. Inc.'s Elm Mott, Texas distribution center was operating in the warehouse when a three-tier rack storage system failed. The rack's vertical supports were damaged and its horizontal beam locks were missing. A pallet of industrial truck tires, stored in a system that exceeded safe height limits, collapsed onto the operator, who died from the injuries.
OSHA's investigation found that the company had not properly trained the forklift operator — cited as a willful violation — and had 11 additional serious violations related to the storage of pallets exceeding 16 feet in height without required stabilization, and to the damaged and incomplete rack hardware that created the structural failure condition. OSHA proposed $288,299 in penalties.
Primary Source: US Department of Labor finds lack of safety training led to forklift operator's fatal injury at Elm Mott tire distribution center
How Crucible Prevents This
Forklift operator training documentation and rack storage inspection records are the two compliance items directly implicated in this fatality. A Crucible pre-shift gate requiring logged confirmation of operator certification and completed rack inspection checklists before distribution center operations begin would have surfaced both the untrained operator and the structurally compromised rack system before the fatal pallet collapse occurred.
Don't let this happen to your organization. See how Crucible works.
See How Crucible Works