That is also why I ask all forklift operators to watch where they are going. Not to be flippant, but 'it takes two to tango', and if I had hit him I would have

That is also why I ask all forklift operators to watch where they are going. Not to be flippant, but 'it takes two to tango', and if I had hit him I would have been almost entirely at fault. However, I don't think I'm getting 19th century in thinking someone walking through an active warehouse should be watching their surroundings. This is also an area where people pick stock off of rolling staircases, it isn't out of the realm of possibility to have a 45lb case of product be dropped off a rack. I should have mentioned in the original comment, it isn't just the handbook, we stress during training that this is a potentially hazardous area, and that you need to be aware of your surroundings. My goal isn't to avoid insurance/workman's comp claims; my goal is for everyone to leave at day's end safely & without injury. I realize there is no such thing as legislating safety, which is why we immediately point out any unsafe behaviors. There are unfortunately just some workplaces that by their very nature are hazardous. I spend ~40% of my time in an office environment, and the hazards there are tripping or paper cuts. However, for the warehouse I manage, I don't think it's unreasonable to expect employees to be aware of their surroundings. This is a workplace where there is moving equipment, blind corners, people on ladders, and the possibility of falling objects. The bare minimum in this situation is to look where you are going. We have pedestrian travel paths, and he wasn't even close to one. He was so engrossed in whatever he was watching on his phone that he had wandered 60' away from where he even should have been to get back to his station. He was paying so little attention he was actively walking away from his destination.