Forklift Accident Leaves Amateur Fighter Dustin Ventimiglia Fighting For His Life

Safety of all employees should always be the number one priority in every workplace. And in every workplace that uses forklifts, proper training and certification for forklift operators are mandatory by OSHA. Whether you have your employees certified in-house, outsource the training or use forkliftcertification.com, there is a much better chance that inventory will go undamaged, fines from OSHA can be avoided and accidents like the one you're about to read can also be avoided.

Dustin Ventimiglia

As an up and coming star in the world of fighting, Ventimiglia was a machine. Pure muscle and strength, he started his wrestling career at the age of four and is now trying to make the leap into the world of MMA. Guided by his uncle Scott Ventimiglia who was a professional fighter at one time, Dustin had a solid platform to one day make it big.

But the biggest problem Ventimiglia was fighting was amateur fighters don’t make a lot of money. With a baby on the way with his wife Melissa, Ventimiglia knew he needed a secure job that offered a steady paycheck and benefits. An opportunity presented itself at Veolia Environmental Services where he could work at night and train during the day. The Veolia company disposes of hazardous materials that the average person or company can’t or is not allowed to dispose of. It was a good job that gave him what he needed but also gave him an unexpected life-changing event that he didn’t need.

The Accident

June 1, 2017, on an average work night, Ventimiglia was doing his job the same way as he always had. On his forklift, he had a load of waste he was taking out to dispose of. Ventimiglia had the forks of the forklift all the way up to their highest point while driving (a big no, no). Not traveling too fast or too slow, he made a sharp turn and the tires gripped the asphalt with no give causing the forklift to tip. Ventimiglia fell out of the seat and landed on the ground right before the forklift followed suit and landed right on top of him.

Ventimiglia was badly injured and in grave danger of losing his life. His co-workers rushed to his aid. Some stayed with him to keep him from passing out while two other co-workers went on different missions. One co-worker called Ventimiglia's wife to let her know of the accident and the other retrieved a second forklift. As Ventimiglia was spitting out blood from his mouth and nose, the second forklift was able to lift the tipped over forklift just enough to free the badly injured fighter.

Soon after pulling Ventimiglia out from under the forklift the ambulance arrived and was able to stabilize him enough to get him to SSM Health Saint Louis University Hospital. In critical condition, doctors pushed him right past the emergency room and right into surgery.

After surgery, Melissa, Ventimiglia’s wife was able to talk to doctors about the condition of her husband. But unfortunately, all doctors could tell her was that he was in a medically induced coma and would stay that way until they were sure they had found and fixed all internal injuries.

Doctors cut open Ventimiglia from his sternum to his belly button to do surgery on his damaged organs. There were so many injuries they left the incision open for three days while they monitored him to make sure they had fixed all of his problems. Ventimiglia stayed in his medically induced coma for nine days.

The Extent of His Injuries:

• Eight broken ribs

• Four crushed vertebrae

• Two broken femurs

• Broken right leg in three different places

• Two collapsed lungs

• Lacerated liver

• Lacerations to the vein that leads to the femoral artery

• Lacerations to the vein that leads to the aorta artery

• A damaged spleen that was removed

Back to Work, Back to Training

Amongst all of his injuries, Ventimiglia not only gets through his rehab successfully, but he also makes it back into the gym five months after the accident that nearly ended his life. Built like a rock again, the only way you would know that this athlete had his body crushed by a 9,000 lb. forklift is by the scars that were left behind.

The long scar from his sternum to his belly button is the most telling, but if you look closely, you can see other marks including a piece of asphalt that is embedded under his right eye from when his head was pinned down on the ground by the forklift.

Back to Fighting

His first fight upon his return was to be held at the Ameristar Casino Resort in St. Charles, St. Louis. Ventimiglia was anxious to get his first fight in since the accident. It’s always tough to come back to any sport that is so mentally and physically demanding after a long absence. Unfortunately, Ventimiglia's opponent never showed and he never got to fight that night.

Ventimiglia received another fighting opportunity on Sept. 7, 2018, in which his new opponent did show. Ventimiglia won the fight in the third round by submission, officially making a successful return to the cage. He has also returned to his night shift job at Veolia Environmental Services. His future goals are to graduate to fighting MMA professionally eventually making appearances in Strikeforce and possibly the UFC.

The Importance of Being Trained Properly

Forkliftcertification.com believes this is a good lesson for everyone working in warehouses and factories. Ventimiglia was lucky enough to get a second chance at life and move on to chase his dreams, but not all accidents end up with this type of happy ending.

Contact forkliftceritfaction.com today. We have three different affordable programs: Train a Trainer, Training Kit and Bundle Kit (includes both the previous programs). All programs are OSHA compliant and only take about an hour to complete.