Common Workplace Injury Risks for Baggage Handlers

Baggage handlers at airports have jobs that require a wide range of hazardous tasks, and they frequently sustain injuries on the job. Some of these injuries result from repetitive movements or as a result of overexertion, while other types of injuries are traumatic and occur almost instantaneously in serious accidents. Many of these injuries are preventable, yet expectations of the job, as well as fatigue and other issues at airports, can make baggage handling particularly dangerous. Whether you were injured while working at a large airport in Maryland like Baltimore/Washington International Thurgood Marshall Airport (BWI) or a smaller airport like one of the regional airports in Hagerstown or Salisbury, it is important to know that you may be eligible for workers’ compensation benefits. Consider the following information about workplace injury risks for baggage handlers.

Overexertion and Repetitive Motion Injuries

Generally speaking, baggage handlers at Maryland airports who get hurt at work are most likely to sustain injuries due to repetitive motion or overexertion, the US Bureau of Labor Statistics (BLS) suggests. A primary role of baggage handlers is — as the name of the job suggests — to handle passenger baggage. This entails lifting bags that are often very heavy or shaped awkwardly, and moving them from one place to another. Baggage handlers are then responsible for repeating these actions over and over again, for hours each day.

These tasks can result in lifting injuries, as well as twisting injuries. Baggage handlers often suffer sprains and strains that can require significant time away from work, depending on the severity of the injury.

Tarmac Accidents and Injuries

In addition to lifting and moving baggage from one place to another, baggage handlers at airports in Maryland are also responsible for loading baggage onto vehicles and transporting baggage out to planes on tarmacs, where they load the passengers’ luggage onto the plane. In addition to the types of injuries discussed above that can result from this work on the tarmac, airport tarmacs can be extremely hazardous and deadly places for other reasons, as well.

A report in the Wall Street Journal highlighted the severe dangers associated with working near aircrafts on tarmacs. Not only can tarmac workers (including baggage handlers) be struck by tarmac vehicles and even by airplanes, but they can also on rare occasions sustain deadly injuries from being sucked into plane engines that are running.

Contact Our Maryland Airline Worker Injury Attorneys 

Baggage handlers and other airport and airline employees who work on the ground can suffer a wide range of on-the-job injuries. If you got hurt, or if a loved one was tragically killed in a tarmac accident, it is important to seek legal advice as soon as you can. An experienced Maryland airline worker injury lawyer at the Law Offices of Steinhardt, Siskind and Lieberman, LLC can discuss your options for seeking workers’ compensation with you today. You may be eligible to receive medical coverage and wage-replacement benefits at the rate of two-thirds your average weekly wage. Contact us to learn more about seeking workers’ compensation coverage with our firm’s assistance.

Sources:

bls.gov/opub/ted/2023/a-look-at-jobs-related-to-air-transportation-for-national-aviation-week.htm

wsj.com/business/airlines/airport-ground-workers-safety-airlines-c98e3216