Here in the Crossroads of America, all sorts of freight and cargo coming in from ports and railyards as well as goods produced at our manufacturing plants and steel mills, are moved across the country by truck, train, ship, and plane through Illinois and Indiana. Efficiency demands that there are storage facilities and warehouses to facilitate this movement of goods; accordingly, throughout Indiana and Illinois there are a tremendous number of structures dedicated to materials handling, storage, and logistics.
Sometimes companies control these establishments in-house, as for instance Amazon and John Deere (which owns one of ten largest warehouses in the country here in Indiana). Other businesses contract with companies that provide warehousing and storage operations for things like general merchandise or for specialized needs like refrigerated goods, hazardous materials, flammables, and more. According to Reonomy, in July 2022 there were over 11,000 warehouses available for lease in Indiana and another 2800 industrial storage facilities in Illinois.
For more, read our discussions in Fatal Industrial Warehouse Accidents in Indiana and Illinois and Local Amazon Warehouses Under Federal Investigation for Both Worker Dangers and Fraudulent Conduct.
Five Deadly Dangers Facing Workers in Warehouse and Storage Facilities
For workers in the warehousing and storage industry, there are known safety hazards placing them at risk of serious injury or death on a daily basis. Warehouse workers and those employed in local storage facilities may have to deal with life-threatening bodily injuries, as well as permanent disability involving musculoskeletal disorders or loss of limb (amputation). Read, Warehouse Accidents: Workers in One of the Deadliest Jobs in Indiana and Illinois.
Based upon industrial history and safety regulatory violations compiled by the Occupational Safety and Health Administration (“OSHA”), the following are some of the greatest dangers in the warehouse and storage facility workplace.
Workers in our local warehouses and industrial storage facilities need to understand the dangers posed by their job sites. They also should know there are legal duties of care to keep them safe from harm on the job imposed upon their employers and others with legal possession or control of aspects of the site operations. Breach of these duties can lead to legal liability for a worker accident and its consequences.
1. Employer’s Failure to Provide Proper Personal Protective Equipment (“PPE”)
It is the employer’s legal duty to carefully inspect all aspects of the warehouse and storage facility to understand the hazards that exist or could develop on any part of the site that is within the company’s possession or control. These hazards will vary; for instance, refrigerated warehouses will have different dangers than those holding general merchandise near a railyard. Moreover, different risks face workers in different jobs and at different times. Winter weather may bring additional risks to warehouse work, for instance.
After this inspection and comprehension of the site’s hazards, the employer has the legal responsibility to provide Personal Protective Equipment (“PPE”) to their employees as necessary to keep them safe from job-related injuries. The worker does not have to pay for their PPE, as a general rule, according to federal law. Employers have to provide appropriate safety gear that includes things like hard hats, gloves, safety glasses, face shields, chemical protective gear, and fall protection equipment (harnesses, belts, etc.).
Not giving the warehouse worker safety protection, or providing the employee with outdated or improper PPE, can result in serious injury or death in a variety of worksite accidents.
For more, read Personal Protective Equipment and Serious Industrial Accidents.
2. Powered Industrial Trucks (Forklifts)
Forklifts, also known as industrial trucks, are vital to warehousing services. Employers are required to comply with established federal forklift safety regulations in order to keep warehouse workers safe on the job site from the known hazards of these dangerous vehicles. See, e.g., the Powered Industrial Trucks Standard, 29 CFR § 1910.178(q)(7), (care and repair of forklifts) and Forklift Operator Training, 29 CFR §1910.178(l)(4) (training every three (3) years).
In warehouse facilities, not only the forklift operator but others near the industrial truck can suffer severe harm should the forklift overturn, tip, or drop its load.
For more, read Forklift Accidents: Serious and Deadly Industrial Truck Injuries on the Job.
3. Materials Handling (including Grain Handling)
Warehousing and storage involve expertise in the movement and loading of all sorts of goods and packaging of various weights, sizes, and fragility. Inventory must be effectively placed within the facility, which usually involves stacking of objects, sometimes at great heights.
Employers are responsible for making sure that warehouse workers are safe from injuries sustained from falling objects. Heavier items should be stored at lower levels, for instance. Transferring procedures involving pallets, scaffolds, forklifts, cranes, and the like must be implemented with particular detail to keeping warehouse workers safe during operations. This is of particular concern for those storing grain in industrial grain storage facilities.
Failure to meet the legal duty of care and safety in materials handling can result in warehouse workers suffering catastrophic or fatal injuries in a fall on the job site or a struck-by accident.
For more, read Supply Chain Fatalities: Accident Injury Dangers with Material Handling and Storage in Indiana and Illinois.
4. Electrical Hazards
Warehouses and storage facilities of all sizes and services need electricity; however, there are specific electrical needs for warehouses providing refrigeration or special protections necessary for chemical goods or hazardous materials.
Warehouse workers are owed the duty of care and safety here that protects them from electrical hazards on the job site. Licensed electricians should be used for all electrical repairs and maintenance on the site. Grounding should be effective and routinely inspected and maintained.
Warehouse workers who are not provided these protections at their workplace are at risk of permanent harm from electrical burns as well as death from electrocution.
For more, read: Industrial Accidents: Electricity Hazards on the Job.
5. Lockout/Tagout
Periodically, warehouse and industrial storage facilities will require the employer to stop work in all or part of the workplace in order for maintenance and servicing of machines or energy sources on the site. This may involve a “lockout” of a machine or piece of equipment. It may involve a “tagout” of the facility if the machine or equipment cannot be turned off easily or at all.
There are federal safety regulations in place to protect warehouse workers during any lockout or tagout at the facility. These include: Marine Terminals (1917 Subpart C); Electric Power Transmission and Distribution (1926 Subpart V); Electrical (1910 Subpart S), Special Industries (1910 Subpart R), and Electric Power Generation, Transmission and Distribution (1910.269).
If there is a breach in the duty of care and safety during a warehouse lockout or tagout, then the warehouse worker is at risk of catastrophic injury or death.
For more, read: Lockout Tagout Accidents in Indiana and Illinois: Employer Liability.
Claims for Justice after Warehouse Worker Accidents in Indiana and Illinois
There are great profits to be made in our local warehouse and storage industry, and with that blessing comes the corresponding duty for these companies to make sure their workers are safe from harm while on the job. Not only the worker’s immediate employer but other companies with profitable relationships and some possession or control of the storage operations need to do all that is reasonable and prudent to prevent accidents from happening.
These risks are well-known and regulated. Accordingly, warehouse workers who suffer injuries on the job site may have legal claims for justice against more than one legal entity for injuries sustained in an on-the-job accident at the warehouse or storage facility.
For more on worker injuries, read:
- How Great is the Danger of Workers Dying in Fatal Work Accidents in 2022?
- Workers’ Compensation and Third-Party Claims for On-the-Job Accidents
- Job Site Injury in Illinois or Indiana: When Accidents at Work Are Not Worker’s Compensation Claims
- The Two Main Differences Between Workers Compensation and Personal Injury Claims for Accident Victims in Indiana and Illinois.
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!
