Warehouse Injuries
Faulty equipment and falling objects - some common warehouse injuries.
A "warehouse injury" refers to an employee who is injured while working in the course and scope of this employment in a warehouse environment. These types of injuries include objects falling on employees, injuries related to the use of a front-end loader or other related heavy machinery, faulty equipment, faulty rollers causing pallets to fall onto employees or customers, asbestos exposure and other related events.
Another common type of equipment used in the warehouse setting is the forklift. A forklift is used on a routine basis by companies like Lowe’s, Home Depot, Sears, Target, and Walmart. A forklift is used to lift merchandise into place high above the store floor and in the warehouse.
An employee injured in a warehouse must determine if his or her employer has workers compensation insurance coverage. Please see our pages on “workers compensation” and “non subscriber cases” to obtain more detailed information with regard to why it is critical to know the answer to this question.
Who is responsible for my warehouse injury?
If the injury is catastrophic or even results in death, OSHA will often investigate the facts and circumstances of the accident. OSHA usually focuses on the employer’s liability and not on other potential tort-feasors or wrongdoers. It is important to leave “no stone unturned” in order to determine which parties are responsible or partially responsible. If the employer does have workers compensation coverage then the injured employee cannot sue his or her employer. There is a narrow exception in the event that the employee is killed, has financial dependents, and the employer is grossly negligent.
Warehouse Explosion Injuries
Most recently in the news has been story after story about warehouse explosions. Obviously, explosions are especially dangerous for its potential for catastrophic work related injury and even death. A high-pressure vessel failure can result in an explosion, which is exactly what happened in a Houston warehouse injuring a number of employees and killing one.