Most Common Injuries Affecting Airline Ground Crews

Airline ground crews perform some of the most dangerous work in the country, including at airports in Maryland. There are many different types of jobs that can fit into the broader classification of “ground crew,” and some are more hazardous than others. The Federal Aviation Administration (FAA) cites a range of work performed by ground crews and the specific roles played, which can include baggage handling, restocking food on an aircraft before the next flight, managing jet bridges, guiding planes into gates, cleaning the interior of planes, and customer service. Aside from customer service agents who largely work indoors and do not handle heavy equipment or get exposed to many of the same hazards as other ground crew, most of these jobs pose regular injury risks.

Our Maryland workers’ compensation lawyers can tell you more about some of the most common injuries affecting airline ground crews, ways these jobs could be made safer, and how you can seek workers’ compensation benefits if you got hurt while working in one of these positions.

Common Injuries Among Ground Crews 

The Occupational Safety and Health Administration (OSHA) oversees safety issues for some types of airline ground crew, while the FAA is responsible for others. In general, OSHA and the FAA point to the following types of injuries as among the common types of harm that airline ground crews experience as a result of workplace hazards:

• Musculoskeletal injuries due to repetitive motions and repetitive stress, as well as routine heavy lifting requirements;
• Burn injuries due to exposure to heat sources and electrical sources;
• Slip and fall injuries, which can occur on slick surfaces as well as those with tripping hazards;
• Crush injuries and traumatic amputations due to encounters with heavy equipment and defective baggage and ramp machinery;
• Respiratory diseases due to extensive exposures over time to hazardous substances on runways; and
• Hearing loss due to prolonged exposure to loud noises and vibrations.

Making Work Safer for Airline Ground Crews 

Airline ground crew work is extremely dangerous, but there are ways to improve safety. On the west coast, state legislators recently sponsored a bill aimed at preventing musculoskeletal disorders among airline ground crew workers simply by making ergonomic protections available. In short, there may be a relatively simple and straightforward preventive measure for ground crews to avoid repetitive motion and repetitive stress injuries.

It is important to consider such changes on a national level, along with additional research into solutions aimed at preventing ground crew deaths in traumatic accidents. As a recent article in the Wall Street Journal underscores, these kinds of accidents have increased recently, and it is essential to do everything possible to prevent deaths among airline workers and passengers.

Contact a Maryland Airline Worker Injury Attorneys 

Were you injured while working an airline ground crew job in Maryland? Or was your spouse or parent killed in a workplace accident while they were working as airline ground crew? Severe workplace injuries can be devastating to the worker and their family, and ground crews at airports experience debilitating and life-threatening injuries too frequently. In many cases, the injured worker or their surviving family can be eligible for Maryland workers’ compensation benefits. One of the experienced Maryland airline worker injury lawyers at the Law Offices of Steinhardt, Siskind and Lieberman, LLC can speak with you about your case and the steps you should take in order to seek workers’ compensation benefits.

Sources:

osha.gov/airline-industry/standards

faa.gov/safety/ground

wsj.com/business/airlines/how-airline-employees-are-coping-after-deadly-washington-crash-31def4d8