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Chicagoland Warehouse Workers: Common Work Accident Injuries

Growing warehousing industry comes with increasing accident dangers to Chicago warehouse workers.

Warehouse workers on the floor as well as those involved in package delivery are confirmed to have the greatest rate of serious injuries on the job of anyone working in the private sector, regardless of industry, according to recent research findings published by the U.S. Government Accountability Office.  Read, “OSHA Should Take Steps to Better Identify and Address Ergonomic Hazards at Warehouses and Delivery Companies,” GAO-24-106413 published by the GAO on September 18, 2024, and publicly released on October 08, 2024 (“GAO Report”).

The GAO research finds that in 2022, around 4 in every 100 full-time warehouse workers suffered serious bodily injury in a work accident.  Moreover, the GAO found that warehouse work injury rates jumped 20% from 2018 to 2022 – and for those involved in deliveries, the rate of serious work injuries was even higher (23%).

The City of Chicago and the surrounding metro area commonly known as “Chicagoland,” is filled with warehouses.  The warehousing industry (with its corresponding transportation component) is skyrocketing here. 

With this boom comes a growing danger for all those employed in warehousing work:  the danger of Chicagoland warehouse workers being hurt on the job is unacceptably high.  The dangers of being hurt while at work, or even killed, is very great.  Sadly, most of these hazards are well-known with certain types of accidents being commonplace.

For more, read: Growing Danger of Serious or Deadly Warehouse Accidents in Chicagoland and Chicago Amazon Work Accidents: Warehouse and Delivery Dangers.

Common Work Accident Injuries in Chicagoland Warehouses

The GAO Report hones in on three specific types of bodily harm suffered in 85% of those warehouse workers and 91% of the warehouse delivery drivers reported to have suffered serious physical injury while at work. 

The first involves bodily injury from the job itself.  Overexertion causes things like dislocated shoulders and back injuries.  However, these were not the result of accidents. The remaining two most common type of bodily harm documented in the GAO Report did involve accidents on the warehouse job site. These were:

1. Contact with objects and equipment (not including motor vehicles)

The most common type of warehouse accident involves the worker victim being hurt in an incident involving things like falling boxes from a higher level or colliding with moving pallet trucks, conveyor belts, etc.  For more, read Industrial Conveyor Belt Accidents in Illinois and Indiana.

2. Falls (slips and trips)

The second most common cause of serious bodily harm for warehouse workers, according to the GAO, involves falling.  This can be a slip on a warehouse floor, where things like oil slicks leaking from machinery or equipment are left unattended.  Falls from any height are also a real danger, including falling from cranes, scissor lifts, etc.  See, Fall Accidents on the Job: Industrial Workplaces and Great Danger of Fall Injuries.

Other government agencies also monitor the dangers facing workers in the warehousing industry, including OSHA and the National Institute of Occupational Safety and Health (NIOSH).  The dangers are so prevalent that in 2023, OSHA implemented its National Emphasis Program on Warehousing and Distribution Center Operations, where “…due to the seriousness of the hazards associated with these facilities and the prevalence of these hazards nationwide, State Plans are required to participate in this NEP. State Plans have the option of adopting an identical or different emphasis program.”  See, OSHA Instruction effective July 13, 2023, CPL 03-00-026.

From their collective research reporting, as well as monitoring by safety agencies such as Illinois’ National Safety Council (“NSC”), other dangers are also well-recognized as being routine for warehouse workers. These include: 

3. Forklift Accidents (Industrial Trucks)

Forklifts, or industrial trucks, are extremely useful for those on the job in Chicago warehouses, from loading docks to storage facilities, and their risks cannot be underestimated.  Operators are required to be certified to drive them.  Daily inspections to make sure these vehicles are in proper working order is required.  The NSC found that 23% of deadly or catastrophic forklift accidents are suffered by warehouse workers.  Also read: Forklift Accidents: Serious and Deadly Industrial Truck Injuries on the Job.

4. Loading Dock Accidents

Workers on or near a Chicagoland warehouse loading dock face one of the greatest risks of being hurt on the job, because there are so many ways that accidents can happen in this work area.  Warehouse workers on a loading dock can be hurt from falling off the dock itself, for instance.  They can also be hurt by the trucks, pallet trucks, or forklifts as they move through the site.  Cargo or goods can fall on them, causing struck-by injuries.  The NSC reports that around 25% of all warehouse work injuries happen on the loading dock.  See, Loading Docks Are Dangerous: Dock Worker Accidents in Indiana and Illinois.

5. Electrical Injuries

Warehouses are huge, and not only are the buildings themselves dependent upon electricity for power but many of the heavy machinery and equipment used in the warehouse is powered by electric current. Accordingly, Chicago warehouse workers are at risk of being seriously burned in an electricity-related accident or even fatally electrocuted.  Particularly for older warehouses, there is the risk that owners or operators have failed to comply with OSHA standards for electrical safety (think grounding, wiring).  Furthermore, all the power tools, machines, and equipment need to be in regulatory compliance.  And all these electrical hazards need to be routinely checked to make sure they are not dangerous and putting workers at risk of harm.  Also read, Electric Power Lines and Live Wires on the Worksite: Serious or Fatal Electricity Accidents.

Chicago Warehouse Accidents: Injury Claims After a Chicagoland Work Accident

For many of us, thinking about workers in the warehousing industry here in the Chicago area brings to mind employers like Amazon; Wal-Mart; Target; FedEx; UPS; or DHL.  However, there are huge facilities run by warehousing companies that employ lots of warehouse workers in our area.  These include North American Warehouse Company in Bedford Park; International Transload Logistics in Aurora; and MWD Logistics in Chicago

These companies, and their competitors, provide an invaluable service not only to our local economies but to the national supply chain as a whole.  Chicago workers in all these warehouse facilities, and those working in their corresponding transportation delivery services, are to be respected for their contributions to our daily lives and lifestyles. 

However, the risk of injury faced by all warehouse workers in the Chicago area is real.  This is a dangerous line of work, where known hazards exist every day on the job. 

When someone does suffer harm, they have help provided to them under the state workers’ compensation laws.  In some instances, their warehouse accident may be investigated and discovered to be caused by breaches in legal duties of safety and care.  These worker victims will have avenues for justice with third party civil claims for relief based upon state laws including negligence, personal injury, product liability, and premises liability with monetary damages that are different from workers’ compensation benefits. 

For more, read:

The risk of common warehouse injuries causing serious or permanent harm to Chicago warehouse workers is ever-present on their jobsites.  Well-known dangers place them at risk of severe bodily injuries with life-altering consequences for both the worker and their loved ones.  Warehouses are dangerous jobsites here in Chicagoland.  Please be careful out there!

Contact Us

If you or a loved one has been seriously injured or killed due to the wrongful acts of another, then you may have a legal claim for damages as well as the right to justice against the wrongdoer and you are welcomed to contact the Northwest Indiana and Chicagoland personal injury lawyers at Allen Law Group to schedule a free initial legal consultation.

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