Warehouse workers face dangers on the job

An increasing number of Florida workers have turned to warehouse jobs either for full-time employment or for supplemental income. With the rapid rise of the e-commerce industry, warehouses and fulfillment centers have outstripped traditional brick-and-mortar retail in many areas. Just one company, Amazon, has over 150 million square feet of warehouse space around the world. While online sales take place digitally, the fulfillment of all of these millions of orders is handled by workers in local warehouses who package and ship the goods for delivery.

Some of the risks of warehouse work are obvious: The job may involve a great deal of standing, bending, lifting and carrying heavy objects. Workers use ladders and forklifts, and the increasing dominance of autonomous technology has added even more vehicles, robots and moving parts to a typical warehouse. This makes workplace accidents and injuries more likely. So far, the statistics bear that out. While 11 workers lost their lives in warehouse accidents in 2015, 22 workers were killed on the job in 2017. Around five out of every 100 full-time workers in a warehouse are injured on the job, a similar rate of risk to the farming industry.

Warehouse workers may face heavy pressure to handle a large number of orders quickly. As companies seek to keep expenses down, they may hire fewer workers to process an ever-growing number of packages, putting workers under pressure to skip steps when it comes to safety. In addition, many people are hired in warehouses on a temporary basis, and they may not receive proper training to manage their jobs safely and in line with federal regulations.

As a result, warehouse workers can face serious injuries due to accidents on the job. A workers’ compensation lawyer may help work accident victims to pursue the benefits they need.