The vehicle he was driving fell on top of him as he was working in Ballyloskey in Carndonagh.
Gardaí closed the road where the incident took place as ambulance and fire crews worked to remove the man from under the forklift truck.
It’s understood the driver suffered several injuries in the incident including a number of broken limbs.
Cllr Albert Doherty said there was “huge relief” that the man had not suffered life-threatening injuries.
“It was a serious incident and the man has suffered several injuries but he is going to be ok,” said Cllr Doherty.
Gardaí are investigating how the accident happened.
There were long delays during the operation to recover the driver from under the vehicle.
Earlier the main Letterkenny to Lifford Road was closed after a crash in which no-one was seriously hurt.