Customer Corner : JLG Industries – A Sky-High Scandal of Death, Defects, and Corporate Bullshit

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Buckle up, because I’m about to drag you into the underbelly of JLG Industries, that gleaming giant in the world of aerial lifts and boom platforms. You know, those towering machines that hoist workers into the sky like some kind of industrial trapeze act, promising safety while delivering a punchline of peril. Founded back in 1969 by a bloke named John L. Grove after he saw a scaffolding horror show that killed a mate, JLG was supposed to be the hero fixing the broken system. But fast-forward to today, and it’s just another corporate behemoth churning out death traps, dodging lawsuits, and prioritising profits over people. It’s the kind of story that makes you want to scream “fuck this” from the rooftops-or in JLG’s case, from the top of a faulty scissor lift.

I’ve sifted through the shit, poured over the court records, OSHA fines, and survivor tales, and what I’ve found is a company that’s as reliable as a hangover after a night of cheap whiskey. JLG, now owned by Oshkosh Corporation since 2006, rakes in billions making equipment for construction sites, warehouses, and anywhere folks need to reach the gods without wings. But beneath the shiny brochures and safety slogans, there’s a trail of crushed bodies, grieving families, and settlements that barely scratch the surface of the pain. And yeah, let’s get this out of the way early: JLG is indeed a customer of Cummins, the engine powerhouse that supplies the guts for many of their machines. That makes JLG yet another player in the Cummins ecosystem with some seriously alternative ideas on ethical behaviour-think of it as a family reunion where everyone’s got skeletons in the closet, and nobody’s owning up.

Product Liability Lawsuits: Where Machines Kill and JLG Walks Away

Picture this: You’re a hardworking bloke like Raul Camacho, up on a JLG scissor lift installing glass panels, thinking the entrance chain is your lifeline. But nope, it’s a half-arsed design that invites disaster. Camacho forgets to latch it-proper human error, sure, but the machine should have your back with a self-closing gate. He tumbles, sues JLG for strict products liability and failure to warn, arguing the chain’s a defect waiting to happen. The trial court sides with JLG, but the California Court of Appeal flips it, saying a jury could see the risk-benefit imbalance. That’s JLG for you: building kit that tempts fate, then fighting tooth and nail in court to avoid blame.

Or take Patrick Wilda, poor bastard pinned between a roof joist and the control panel of a JLG manlift while bolting cross bracings alone. Asphyxiated, gone. His family hauls JLG into court for strict liability and negligence, pointing fingers at inadequate guarding, shitty joystick placement, and the fact that their optional “SkyGuard” safety device wasn’t standard. JLG tries to exclude experts and snag summary judgment, but the court says no dice-there’s genuine beef about defects and misuse. It’s outrageous, isn’t it? These machines are supposed to elevate lives, not end them, yet JLG skimps on basics that could save skins.

And don’t get me started on Roy Woolard, who plummeted 70 feet when a JLG aerial platform collapsed due to a dodgy soft-metal sheave pin. Injured, suing for defective manufacture and design, he settles with JLG pre-trial while a jury nails the owner and distributor for negligence. The Tenth Circuit mostly upholds it, but it’s the pattern that pisses me off: JLG’s gear failing in spectacular, preventable ways, leaving workers mangled or dead.

Then there’s Randall Grant, crushed in a JLG boom lift while changing light bulbs in a parking garage. No guard system, just a crossbar and control panel turning into a vice. His family sues for wrongful death, but a federal judge tosses it for missing Pennsylvania’s two-year statute of limitations. Timing’s a bitch, but so is JLG’s apparent disregard for features that could prevent such horrors.

David Nowak’s another ghost in this machine-pinned by an I-beam after accidentally nudging the drive controller on a JLG stick boom lift. Burst fractures, colon injury, the works. Sues JLG and the rental firm for defects, poor maintenance, inadequate training. Settles for $4.2 million. Good for him, but how many more need to suffer before JLG makes safety non-negotiable?

These aren’t one-offs. Cases like Quirke v. JLG (boom retraction injury from crap cable install), Mattheos v. JLG (motion to dismiss denied), Wartman v. JLG (product liability drag-out), and a slew of unnamed suits over tip-overs, falls, weld defects, and failure to warn paint a picture of systemic fuck-ups. JLG settles some, wins dismissals in others, but the body count and legal bills scream negligence louder than any corporate denial.

OSHA Violations: Slaps on the Wrist for a Company That Should Know Better

Now, let’s talk safety regs, because JLG’s rap sheet with OSHA-the US watchdog for workplace hazards-is like a bad tattoo you can’t hide. Fines for safety and health violations in 2003 ($9,000), wage and hour bullshit in 2009 ($8,188), and a 2013 safety ding that started at $7,000 but settled for $3,675. Peanuts, really, for a company this size. Inspections uncover serious lapses in aerial lift standards, with penalties up to $2,800. And JLG kit’s been in fatal accidents, like a 2020 electrocution in a boom lift that drew OSHA’s ire.

The construction biz is a minefield-OSHA’s top violations include fall protection, which JLG claims to tackle with innovations. But when your equipment’s cited in deaths and your factories get fined, it’s clear the commitment’s more lip service than lockdown. JLG touts a safety department and awards, but actions speak louder: minor fines that barely dent profits, while workers pay the ultimate price.

Recalls, Trade Secrets, and Trademark Shenanigans: The Corporate Underbelly

JLG’s not just about bodily harm; they’ve got a knack for business dodginess too. In 2014, they petitioned for “inconsequential noncompliance” on trailers failing labelling regs-nothing major, but it shows corners cut. They urge accident reports for potential recalls, but how proactive are they really?

Then there’s the 2021 trade secrets spat: Parent Oshkosh sues ex-JLG engineer McKenzie Ditty and rival Sany America, claiming she nicked designs. Industrial espionage? Sounds like JLG’s secrets are worth stealing, but it exposes internal rot.

In 2019, JLG sued Chinese firm Lingong for ripping off their orange-and-cream colour scheme on scissor lifts. A judge slaps a restraining order, demanding repaints or destruction, with JLG chasing $2 million. Fair play in trademarks, but it highlights a cutthroat industry where imitation’s the sincerest form of flattery-or theft.

Environmental wise, JLG’s SEC filings admit violations but downplay them as non-material. They boast reducing water use by 10 million gallons yearly and cutting emissions, but no big scandals here-just the usual corporate greenwashing.

Labour? Indirect strikes at acquired firms like Gradall in 2024 over wages and insurance, and employee gripes about safety stress. No massive walkouts at JLG, but the vibe’s tense.

The Cummins Connection: Engines of Ethical Ambiguity

As I mentioned, JLG relies on Cummins engines to power their beasts-check their online store selling Cummins replacements delivering 80-130 horsepower. It’s a snug fit in the supply chain: JLG builds the lifts, Cummins provides the roar. But Cummins has its own baggage-emissions scandals, fines for dodgy defeat devices. Adding JLG to the mix? It’s like a network of companies where “ethical behaviour” means whatever keeps the shareholders happy. In this ecosystem, safety and integrity take a back seat to the bottom line, and that’s a recipe for more tragedies.

For the uninitiated, supply chains are the web of suppliers feeding parts to manufacturers like JLG. Cummins is a key link, engines being the heart of these machines. When one part of the chain’s ethically iffy, it taints the whole damn thing.

Wrapping Up the Wreckage: Time for JLG to Step Up or Step Off

JLG started with noble intentions-Grove witnessing a fatality and vowing better. But today’s JLG? A profit machine grinding through lawsuits, fines, and fatalities without real reckoning. Workers deserve equipment that doesn’t betray them, families deserve justice, not settlements. Fuck the excuses; it’s time for accountability. If JLG wants to reclaim its hero status, ditch the defects, mandate the safety tech, and treat people like more than expendable cogs.

Until then, this sky-high empire’s built on shaky ground, and the fall could be brutal.

Lee Thompson – Founder, The Cummins Accountability Project

Sources

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