The warehousing business in Indiana and Illinois is a growing sector of our economy as online trade (e-commerce) continues to gain favor with consumers at the expense of shopping at traditional “brick-and-mortar” retail stores. Read, “Untapped potential | Experts: Region in position to become major logistics hub in booming e-commerce sector,” written by Christopher Adam and published by NW Indiana Business on October 1, 2021, which gives the recent example of Amazon opening new warehousing facilities in Merrillville and Valparaiso.
As of December 2021, Amazon was already operating eighteen (18) warehouses in Illinois and planning to build more, according to the Chicago Sun-Times. See, “Illinois lawmakers, don’t be swayed by Amazon’s promises,” written by Paul Rafelson and published by the Chicago Sun-Times on December 20, 2021. Comparatively, Amazon has eleven (11) warehouses (aka “fulfillment centers”) in Indiana according to “The Ultimate List of All Amazon Fulfillment Centers,” written by Tara Johnson and published by Tinuiti on October 18, 2021, with expansion in the works for the Hoosier State as a new Amazon warehouse is being planned for Elkhart sometime in 2022.
And this is just Amazon. Warehousing is a big deal here in the Crossroads of America, where the logistics industry coordinates transportation of goods by truck, rail, maritime, or plane with handling and storage of goods and materials (i.e., warehousing, inventory management, etc.). For more, read our earlier discussion in Warehouse Accidents: Workers in One of the Deadliest Jobs in Indiana and Illinois.
High Risk of Fatal Warehouse Accident on the Job
In December 2021, the US Bureau of Labor Statistics (BLS) released its annual report on workplace fatalities with data from the calendar year 2020. The BLS research confirmed workers face an unacceptably high risk of death in an on-the-job accident when employed in the transportation and warehousing industry.
According to the BLS Census of Fatal Occupational Injuries Summary, 2020:
- A worker died every 111 minutes from a work-related injury in 2020; and
- Workers in transportation and material moving occupations and construction and extraction occupations accounted for nearly half of all fatal occupational injuries (47.4 percent).
Where are the Greatest Warehouse Dangers? Duty of Care and Safety
Working on the warehouse floor of any facility in Indiana or Illinois comes with a danger of serious or deadly bodily injuries. The employer, as well as the warehouse owner, supervisor, and others, may have legal responsibility for the consequences of any warehouse accident when it can be established that they have breached a legal duty of care and safety towards that warehouse accident victim.
Warehouse accidents can happen at any time there are operations in progress and workers are on the job. Incidents that can cause severe bodily harm to warehouse workers include:
- Heavy machinery incidents
- Forklift accidents
- Falling objects
- Struck-by or caught in-between incidents
- Falls
- Pallet rack failures.
Warehouse Workers Entitled to Proper Workplace Safety Practices
Workplace safety is the responsibility of those who are profiting off the labor of that injured warehouse worker. Fatal warehouse accidents can happen in a variety of locations on the worksite, from an assortment of causes, from a caught in-between accident on a conveyor; to falling product off a collapsing shelf; to a forklift accident on the dock.
Safety must be a primary concern for those in control of warehouse operations. Legally mandated duties of care include taking steps like:
- Monitoring all motor vehicles in use on the property for safety (check forklift brakes, delivery truck tires, etc.)
- Repair and maintenance of motor vehicles as needed
- Proper hiring, training, and supervising of all workers operating motor vehicles on warehouse property
- Monitoring all heavy machinery and equipment in use at the facility for safety (e.g., industrial manipulators)
- Repair and maintenance of heavy machinery and equipment as needed
- Proper hiring, training, and supervising of all workers operating warehouse machinery and equipment
- Checking storage to protect against overloaded shelves, unclean or cluttered areas, etc.
- Providing necessary personal protective equipment (PPE) to warehouse workers
- Developing safety training procedure for warehouse workers
- Developing proper lockout – tagout procedures for repair and maintenance
- Developing proper fire safety and fire hazard procedures with worker training
- Monitoring safety concerns and advancing safety technologies for the warehouse industry
- Updating all safety training procedures as necessary.
For more, read:
- Forklift Accidents: Serious and Deadly Industrial Truck Injuries on the Job
- Heavy Machinery Accidents in Indiana and Illinois
- Lockout Tagout Accidents in Indiana and Illinois: Employer Liability
- Lone Workers: Employer’s Duty of Care
- Fatal Falls on the Job and the Employers Failure to Protect Worker From Fall Risk.
Justice for Deadly Warehouse Accidents in Indiana or Illinois
As the logistics industry continues to grow in our part of the country, warehouse workers in Indiana or Illinois need to be aware that they face a great risk of serious or fatal work injuries caused by an employer’s failure to protect workers under legally defined standards of workplace care and safety.
When a deadly warehouse accident tragedy occurs in Indiana or Illinois, the accident victim and their loved ones may have legal avenues for justice available to them under state laws defined by negligence, product liability, workers’ compensation, and wrongful death laws.
In some instances, legal liability may also lie with third parties who contributed to the incident, such as the entity hired for repair or maintenance of a forklift or industrial manipulator who failed to perform tasks in a reasonable and prudent manner.
As more and more warehouses are built here in Indiana and Illinois to serve the needs of the growing e-commerce marketplace, our warehouse workers face a known risk of severe or deadly harm on the job. Sadly, there will be employees in our communities who lose their lives at work because of company negligence in keeping people safe from known warehouse dangers.
For more on worker injuries, read:
- AFL-CIO 2021 Report: Shocking Risk of Dying on the Job for Workers in Indiana and Illinois
- The Increasing Danger of Dying on the Job: Fatality Risk Just Keeps Growing for Workers
- Job Site Injury in Illinois or Indiana: When Accidents at Work Are Not Worker’s Compensation Claims.
If you or a loved one suffers injury in an accident while working in a warehouse here in Indiana or Illinois, then be aware that there may be legal claims for damages under our state laws. Please be careful out there!
