PENNSYLVANIA PERSONAL INJURY LAWYERS
WINNING CASES SINCE 1922
Harrisburg Forklift Accident Lawyer
Tens of Millions Recovered by Forklift Injury Attorneys in Harrisburg, PA
A sudden forklift accident at work can change everything in a moment. One minute you’re doing your job, and the next you may be facing serious injuries, time away from work, and questions about how you’ll support yourself and your family.
At Handler, Henning & Rosenberg LLC, we represent injured workers after serious industrial and warehouse incidents, including forklift crashes, tip-overs, and struck-by events. For more than 100 years, our Harrisburg forklift accident attorneys have been helping people across Central Pennsylvania pursue the financial recovery they need to heal and move forward.
You don’t have to sort through workers' compensation forms, medical bills, and insurance calls on your own. We’re here to listen, explain your options, and help you decide what to do next.
We offer free consultations with no upfront costs. Call (717) 775-7514 to get started.
Why Workers Rely on the Harrisburg Forklift Injury Lawyers at HHR
When a forklift is involved, the stakes are often high because these accidents tend to cause life-altering injuries and long periods away from work. It helps to have a forklift accident attorney in Harrisburg, PA who knows this region, understands serious work injuries, and has a long record of helping injured people rebuild.
Handler, Henning & Rosenberg LLC has been serving injured Pennsylvanians since 1922. Over the last century, we’ve helped more than 40,000 clients across Central Pennsylvania recover compensation for workplace injuries. Our forklift injury attorneys practice out of multiple offices, including a central location in Harrisburg. In any case, we make it a point to meet plaintiffs wherever they need us—at home, at the hospital, or at the nearest office.
No upfront fees, no hourly rates. If we take your forklift injury case, our fee is collected only if we obtain a recovery for you. That contingency arrangement lets you focus on your health instead of worrying about legal costs.
Common Causes of Forklift Accidents in Harrisburg
Forklifts are common around Harrisburg and throughout Central Pennsylvania—in distribution centers near major highways, manufacturing plants, construction supply yards, grocery warehouses, and big-box retail locations. These machines are powerful tools, but they can cause devastating harm when something goes wrong.
Serious forklift accidents often involve:
- A worker being struck by a moving forklift
- Being pinned between the forklift and a rack or wall
- Being hit by a falling load
- Tip-overs from uneven surfaces, overloaded masts, or sudden turns
People walking or working nearby can be injured even if they never touch the equipment.
Many of these incidents involve preventable issues such as insufficient training, unclear traffic patterns inside warehouses, poor lighting, blocked sight lines, or lack of clear rules about pedestrians and forklift routes. In some situations, the forklift itself may have a mechanical problem or the load may not be secured properly.
Understanding exactly how a forklift accident happened is critical. The layout of the worksite, the condition of the equipment, and the actions of supervisors or other companies on the site can all affect who is responsible.
Determining Liability After a Workplace Forklift Injury
When a forklift injury happens on the job, workers' compensation may cover medical treatment and a portion of lost wages, regardless of who caused the accident. Those benefits are vital, but they usually don’t pay for all the losses that come with a serious injury, such as long-term loss of earning power or the full impact on your quality of life. In some cases, you may have the right to pursue a separate claim against other parties whose actions contributed to your forklift accident.
Potentially responsible parties include:
- Companies that design, manufacture, or maintain forklifts or attachments
- Property owners and general contractors who control job sites
- Subcontractors or staffing agencies
- Third-party logistics companies that set unrealistic schedules
At Handler, Henning & Rosenberg LLC, we have a full-time investigator on staff who examines incident reports, photographs, and scene conditions to identify safety violations or faulty equipment that might not be obvious at first glance.
Steps To Take After A Forklift Accident At Work
In the hours and days after a serious forklift incident, taking a few careful steps can protect your health and your legal rights.
Get medical care immediately. If your injuries are severe, that may mean emergency treatment at a local hospital such as UPMC Harrisburg or Penn State Health Hampden Medical Center. Even if you think you can push through the pain, be evaluated by a doctor, tell them exactly what happened, and follow their recommendations. Some forklift accident injuries, such as head trauma or internal damage, may not show full symptoms right away.
Report the incident promptly. Report to your supervisor or employer in writing if you can. Make sure the basic facts are accurate, including where it happened, what you were doing, and who was present. If a manager tries to discourage you from reporting or suggests changing details, that’s a warning sign that your interests aren’t aligned with the company’s.
Preserve evidence. If your condition allows, take photographs of the area, the forklift, and any visible hazards. Get contact information for coworkers who saw what happened. Avoid guessing about causes or accepting blame—an investigation may uncover issues you didn’t know about at the time.
Be cautious with insurance adjusters. You may be contacted by a workers' compensation carrier or another insurer looking for a recorded statement or forms to sign. Before you give detailed statements or sign documents, talk with a forklift injury attorney in Harrisburg, PA.
If travel is difficult because of your injuries, our forklift accident attorneys regularly meet with clients at home or in hospitals throughout Central Pennsylvania. Reaching out early gives us more opportunity to help you preserve evidence, understand your benefits, and explore claims outside of workers' compensation.
How Our Harrisburg Forklift Accident Attorneys Handle Your Case
When you contact our office, the first step is a free consultation about what happened and how your forklift injuries are affecting your life. We listen to your account, ask questions about your job duties and medical treatment, and talk about the benefits and claims that may be available. If we believe we can help and you choose to move forward, we’ll lay out your options for next steps.
From there, our forklift injury lawyers and staff begin gathering records that can shed light on your case—workplace incident reports, photographs, video, and safety documentation such as training records or maintenance logs. Our full-time investigator works closely with our legal team to understand the physical layout of the site, forklift paths, and any changes that may have occurred after the incident.
Because Handler, Henning & Rosenberg LLC handles personal injury, workers' compensation, and Social Security disability matters, we’re able to address the overlapping issues that so often arise after a serious forklift accident. Having a lawyer familiar with handling these related issues reduces confusion and streamlines the recovery process.
We prepare every forklift injury case with the understanding that it may need to be presented in court, even though many matters resolve through negotiated settlements. Throughout the process, we prioritize communication. Our Harrisburg forklift accident lawyers keep clients informed about developments, answer questions, and explain what to expect in clear language.
Compensation Available In Forklift Injury Claims
Forklift accidents can cause a wide range of injuries, from broken bones and crush injuries to spinal cord damage, traumatic brain injuries, or amputations. These injuries may require surgeries, long hospital stays, rehabilitation, and sometimes lifetime changes in how you work or live.
In many workplace incidents, workers' compensation is the starting point. These benefits can cover medical treatment that is reasonable and necessary for the injury, and a portion of lost wages when you’re unable to work or limited in your duties.
When another company outside your employer contributed to the forklift accident, a separate personal injury claim may also be possible. A third-party claim can seek compensation for pain and suffering, loss of enjoyment of life, and the full scope of lost earning capacity—losses that workers' compensation doesn’t typically address fully. The value of any forklift injury case depends on the extent of your injuries, how clear liability is, and the amount of available insurance coverage.
Over many years, our firm has obtained million-dollar results for injured workers and accident victims in a variety of serious cases. When we review your forklift accident situation, we look carefully at all possible sources of recovery and explain what types of damages may apply.
Harrisburg Forklift Accident FAQ
Do I Need A Forklift Injury Lawyer If My Case Is Covered By Workers' Comp?
Workers' compensation benefits are important, but they don’t always tell the whole story. A forklift accident attorney can help you understand whether workers' compensation is being handled correctly and whether you may also have a third-party claim against another company, such as an equipment manufacturer or site contractor. Those additional claims can sometimes provide compensation for losses that workers' compensation doesn’t fully cover.
How Much Does It Cost to Hire a Harrisburg Forklift Accident Lawyer?
There are no upfront costs. We work on a contingency fee basis, which means our fee is a percentage of the recovery and is collected only if we obtain compensation for you. You don’t pay hourly rates, and we advance many of the costs necessary to move the case forward.
What Should I Do if My Employer Is Pressuring Me Not to Report the Forklift Accident?
Take that concern seriously. You have the right to report a work-related injury and to seek the benefits that the law provides. Put your report in writing, keep a copy, and note the dates and content of any conversations with supervisors. Speak with a forklift injury lawyer as soon as possible. Our team can discuss your options confidentially and help you protect both your health and your legal rights.
Can I Still File a Claim if I Was Partly at Fault for the Forklift Incident?
In many Pennsylvania injury cases, you can still pursue a claim even if you were partly at fault, as long as your share of responsibility is not greater than that of the other parties combined. It’s not unusual for injured workers to blame themselves, only to later learn that poor training, unsafe procedures, or defective equipment played a major role. Our Harrisburg forklift accident attorneys can review the facts and help you understand how shared fault could affect any potential recovery.
How Long Do I Have to File a Forklift Injury Claim in Pennsylvania?
The time limits depend on the type of case. Workers' compensation claims follow their own deadlines for reporting injuries and filing petitions. Separate injury claims against third parties typically must be filed within a specific statute of limitations period. Because missing a deadline can prevent you from pursuing compensation, speak with a forklift accident lawyer as soon as possible.
Will a Harrisburg Forklift Injury Attorney Come to the Hospital or My Home?
Yes. When travel is difficult or impossible because of your injuries, our forklift accident lawyers regularly travel across Central Pennsylvania to meet clients at hospitals or in their homes. In addition to our office in Harrisburg, we have offices in York, Lancaster, Carlisle, Hanover, and Schuylkill County.
What Makes Your Firm the Right Choice for My Harrisburg Forklift Accident Case?
Since 1922, Handler, Henning & Rosenberg LLC has handled thousands of serious injury cases and has guided more than 40,000 clients through life-changing events. We bring together forklift injury attorneys who have been recognized in Best Lawyers, Best Law Firms, Super Lawyers, and National Trial Lawyers Top 100, along with membership in Million Dollar and Multi-Million Dollar Advocates Forum. We also employ a full-time investigator and have multiple offices across the region, including Harrisburg.
Contact a Harrisburg Forklift Injury Lawyer Today
If you or a family member has been hurt in a forklift accident at work, you don’t have to face the medical, financial, and legal challenges alone. A conversation with our team can help you understand your rights, the benefits that may be available, and whether additional claims might apply to your forklift injury situation.
For more than a century, Handler, Henning & Rosenberg LLC has been standing up for injured workers across Central Pennsylvania, including here in Harrisburg. We offer free consultations, there are no upfront costs if we take your forklift accident case, and you pay nothing at all unless we win. Our forklift injury attorneys in Harrisburg, PA can meet you at any office or at your home or hospital room if needed.
To talk with a forklift accident attorney Harrisburg workers trust for guidance, call (717) 775-7514 today.
HHR: A Family Story
Handler, Henning & Rosenberg has always been a family business. It's been 100 years, and if we look into the future another 100 years, we still see our family helping yours. We've been around for this long for a reason: we care about our clients and our communities, and every person at our firm does everything they can to help every client we represent.
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