Injuries Common Among Workers in the Food Supply Chain
From trucking and transportation to warehousing to stocking in grocery stores in Maryland, working in the food supply chain is dangerous work. According to a study conducted by researchers at Penn State University, “workers tasked with moving products in the immense US food system are at high risk of serious injury,” and many of those injury risks are relatively unique to this type of work. Why are workers within the food supply chain facing hazards that other workers who move products are not? As the study points out, “one reason for the high hazard rates may be the reliance on a synergistic packaging system designed to loans and transport food products within and between manufacturers, wholesalers, and retailers.” In addition, those packages often require the use of heavy machinery to move, putting workers at more risk.
What should you know about hazards and injury compensation if you work in one of these jobs or if you recently got hurt while performing one of these jobs? Our Maryland workers’ compensation lawyers can say more.
Pallet Jack and Forklift Injuries
The way food products are packaged usually means that they are placed in unit loads and onto large pallets that are then stacked and moved by pallet jacks or forklifts into and out of large trucks that deliver them to retail stores in Maryland and throughout the country.
These heavy machines pose many safety risks to operators, as well as to workers on the ground around them. They can result in devastating rollover and crush injuries, as well as injuries to operators who fall from the machines while operating them. Workers can sustain traumatic brain injuries (TBIs), broken bones, and traumatic amputations.
Stocking in Retail Food Stores
When food products come into retail food stores, from small local grocers to chains such as Giant Food or Whole Foods, they must also be moved and relocated to stocking areas, and then to shelves within the grocery store. Stockers and other workers at retail food stores can sustain injuries similar to those suffered by warehousing workers moving food products into trucks for transportation as they unload pallets to prepare them for stocking within the shelves of the store.
In addition, retail grocery workers can sustain musculoskeletal injuries as a result of the process involved in unloading, moving, and shelf stocking — these tasks require repetitive movements of bending and twisting, which are common sources of injury among food store employees.
Contact a Maryland Workers’ Compensation Attorney for Help with Your Food Supply Chain Work Injury Case
The study out of Penn State University reports that more than 1,000 workers in the food supply chain suffered severe injuries at work between 2015 and 2020, and there were 47 reported fatalities. Those numbers are already high, they emphasize, and there is reason to believe that “actual figures could be twice as high.” If you got hurt on the job and need help seeking compensation, you should get in touch with one of the experienced Maryland workers’ compensation lawyers at the Law Offices of Steinhardt, Siskind and Lieberman, LLC today. We routinely represent employees in warehousing, retail, and food industries with work injury cases, and we can speak with you today about your options.
Source:
psu.edu/news/research/story/workers-moving-products-us-food-supply-chain-high-risk-injury
