Amazon has changed the world. As an industrial leader, Amazon not only influences the general public to shop online for home delivery but also competes with other multinational corporations like Wal-Mart for the fastest delivery times. For more and more items, “One Day Delivery” is an option for internet sales. See “How Amazon’s warehouse empire reshaped the nation — and the US workforce,” written by Avery Hartmans and published by Business Insider on October 21, 2022.
One of the critical components in this growing web marketing success has been the exponential growth in warehousing’s transportation, material moving, and delivery services. Offering more and more products at faster and faster delivery turnarounds requires excellent planning and preparation within the industry. More and more regional warehouses are needed to store products and materials. Investments must be made not only in the physical facilities but in things like warehouses, commercial trucks, forklifts, automated machinery and equipment, and more. Growing fleets of delivery vehicles with 24-hour shift-work delivery drivers are also required.
Serious Increase in On-the-Job Deaths for Warehouse Workers
Of course, this rapid growth has not come without costs regarding worker accidents and injuries. So much so, the recent Bureau of Labor Statistics (“BLS”) latest report on fatal workplace injuries in this country confirms a shocking increase in warehouse-related industrial fatalities.
The BLS found that transportation and material moving workers have seen the highest number of on-the-job deaths, with an 18.8% jump in deaths in a single year.
The BLS also confirmed fatalities in the warehousing and storage industry rose from 26 per 100 full-time workers in 2018 to 46 per 100 full-time workers in 2021.
This means the number of deaths for warehouse workers almost doubled in three years.
The rising danger for warehouse workers and delivery services in Indiana, Illinois, and the rest of the nation has not gone unnoticed by safety agencies, advocates for worker accident victims and their loved ones, and government regulators. Safety concerns for workers in the nation’s Warehousing and Package/Parcel Delivery industry is one of the handfuls of “outreach priorities” for the Occupational Safety and Health Administration (“OSHA”) in 2023.
What is the Warehouse and Storage Industry?
Warehousing workers are not employed exclusively by Amazon or Wal-Mart. Here in the “Crossroads of America,” there are a great many companies that earn a profit by providing warehousing and storage services for freight and cargo being transported by truck, train, or ship. The second largest warehouse in the world, owned and operated by John Deere, is located in Moline, Illinois.
The BLS defines the industry as follows:
Industries in the Warehousing and Storage subsector are primarily engaged in operating warehousing and storage facilities for general merchandise, refrigerated goods, and other warehouse products. These establishments provide facilities to store goods. They do not sell the goods they handle. These establishments take responsibility for storing the goods and keeping them secure. They may also provide a range of services, often referred to as logistics services, related to the distribution of goods. Logistics services can include labeling, breaking bulk, inventory control and management, light assembly, order entry and fulfillment, packaging, pick and pack, price marking and ticketing, and transportation arrangement. However, establishments in this industry group always provide warehousing or storage services in addition to any logistic services. Furthermore, the warehousing or storage of goods must be more than incidental to the performance of services, such as price marking.
Accident Dangers in Warehousing Industry
Achieving these unacceptably high worker death rates has come from a number of known industrial site dangers facing warehouse and storage workplaces. The risks are recognized and regulated by both governmental authorities and industrial standards. Among them are the following:
- Industrial Truck or Forklift Accidents
- Struck-By Injuries
- Falls From Elevations (Elevated Pallets or Tines)
- Underride Hazards
- Failure of Lockout/Tagout Procedures
- Lack of Worker Training or Safety Procedures.
Safety experts report that the most common warehouse incidents that cause both fatal and non-fatal worker injuries are: (1) loading dock injuries; (2) forklift accidents; (3) conveyor belts; (4) materials storage; and (5) manual lifting and handling. See “What are Some Stats Around Warehouse Accidents and the Costs They Can Create for a Company?” written by Sarah Manielly and published by Safeopedia on April 27, 2022.
To learn more about these workplace dangers, read:
- Forklift Accidents: Serious and Deadly Industrial Truck Injuries on the Job
- Heavy Machinery Accidents in Indiana and Illinois
- Fatal Falls on the Job and the Employer’s Failure to Protect Worker From Fall Risk
- Loading Docks Are Dangerous: Dock Worker Accidents in Indiana and Illinois
- Industrial Conveyor Belt Accidents in Illinois and Indiana
- Shift Work Accidents: Fatigue Dangers and Workplace Impairment
- Lockout Tagout Accidents in Indiana and Illinois: Employer Liability.
Fatalities and Failure of Employers’ Legal Duty of Care for Warehouse Workers
Warehouse work is heavily regulated by state and federal law. Employers and their insurance carriers understand the legal duties of care and safety that apply to those who hire warehouse workers to help them make their profits.
Nevertheless, in almost every fatal warehouse workplace injury, a breach in the employer’s duty of safety and care contributes or causes the tragic death. The known regulations and safety standards are ignored or disregarded. This failure results in a fatal accident that would have been prevented if the legal duties had been met.
Once that breach of care is established, the failure to respect safety responsibilities may prove up legal liability of the employer (and maybe third parties) for the incident and its deadly result.
For more, read:
- Fatal Industrial Warehouse Accidents in Indiana and Illinois
- Five Deadly Workplace Dangers in Warehousing and Industrial Storage Facilities
- Local Amazon Warehouses Under Federal Investigation for Both Worker Dangers and Fraudulent Conduct
- Premises Liability and Workplace Accidents: Third Party Injury Claims
- Workers’ Compensation and Third-Party Claims for On-the-Job Accidents.
The warehouse and storage industry in Indiana and Illinois is growing at a fast rate without a corresponding increase in safety protections for warehouse workers. It is unacceptable that so many workers in our nation’s warehouse industry are dying during a time when the warehousing industry as a whole is flourishing.
If you or a loved one has suffered serious bodily injuries in a warehouse or storage industrial accident here in Indiana or Illinois, there are avenues for justice to investigate under both state and federal law that may provide monetary damages including pain and suffering, lost wages, lost earning capacity, and wrongful death. Please be careful out there!
