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Warehouse Accidents

Warehouse workers face a number of potential hazards, and often suffer serious work-related injuries. When those accidents happen, we’re here to help.

At Riddle & Brantley, we focus our practice on helping injured and disabled people in Raleigh, Jacksonville, Goldsboro, Kinston, and Eastern North Carolina. Our Goldsboro workers’ compensation lawyers & Raleigh workers compensation attorneys have helped workers pursue the benefits they deserve after sustaining serious injuries in workplace accidents.

Partner Chris Brantley is a workers’ compensation specialist, and some of our accident attorneys have been awarded Martindale-Hubbell® AV Preeminent® Rating and membership in the Multi-Million Dollar Advocates Forum®. You can count on our firm for your legal representation after an on-the-job warehouse accident with injuries. We have two attorneys who are certified by the N.C. State Bar as specialists in Workers’ Compensation law.

North Carolina Warehouse Accidents

As reported by OSHA, more than 145,000 workers are employed in more than 7,000 warehouses in the U.S. The warehousing workplace accident fatality rate is higher than the national average of fatality rates in other industries. Warehouse workers are subject to a range of hazards, including accidents from forklifts, improper stacking, inadequate fire safety, and repetitive motion injuries.

Types of Warehouse Accidents

Workers in warehouses can be injured in many different ways, including:

  • Injuries on docks, when products fall on workers, forklifts run off the docks, or equipment strikes employees.
  • Forklifts, which account for approximately 100 fatalities and 95,000 injuries in all industries combined every year. A large portion of the fatalities are caused by forklifts turning over.
  • Conveyor injuries, when workers are hit by falling products, get arms or hands caught in in-going nip points or in pinch points, or when they develop musculoskeletal injuries from repetitive motions or awkward positions associated with warehousing work.
  • Materials storage injuries, when improperly stacked materials fall and hit workers.
  • Manual lifting or handling injuries to the back from overexertion or improper lifting.
  • Hazardous materials injuries, such as chemical burns with spills of hazardous materials.
  • Charging station injuries, including fires and explosions.
  • Improper ergonomics injuries, including poor operations design leading to musculoskeletal injuries.

OSHA lists these common accidents and injuries in public warehousing and storage:

  • Slip or trip and falls from wet or icy floors or poor housekeeping
  • Vehicle accidents with mechanical equipment, such as forklifts
  • Employee accidents with mechanical equipment
  • Falls from overhead storage platforms
  • Crushing injuries from shifting or falling materials
  • Headaches and respiratory problems from carbon monoxide.

Preventing Warehouse Accidents

Many warehouse accidents could be prevented by complying with OSHA safety standards for warehousing. OSHA reports that the top 10 violations cited in the warehousing industry concern:

  • Powered industrial trucks
  • Hazard communications
  • Egress
  • Wiring
  • Electrical systems design
  • Hazardous energy lockout, tag out, and control
  • Fire extinguishers, portable
  • Guarding of wall and floor openings
  • Respiratory protection
  • Handling of materials.

Many dock accidents could be avoided by driving forklifts slowly on docks, securing plates, ensuring that plates can support the load, placing visual warnings near dock edges, and ensuring that ladders and stairs on docks meet OSHA standards. Most forklift accidents could be prevented by training, evaluating and certifying operators, properly maintaining hauling equipment, examining forklifts for possible hazards before use, and following safe procedures when stacking or picking up loads with a forklift.

Riddle & Brantley Forklift Accident Case

One case we have handled involving a forklift injury resulted in severe injury. A worker dropped a load of lumber on our client as he was making a delivery in a warehouse. We represented him in both a personal injury and workers’ compensation case. The workers’ compensation carrier paid all medical bills, which exceeded several hundred thousand dollars, and paid all wage loss until the date of settlement.

We also successfully handled the personal injury claim against the third party who caused the injury. The personal injury case was settled for $685,000 in addition to what the workers’ compensation carrier paid. The workers’ compensation carrier also agreed to pay an additional annuity which gave our client $6,000 per year for 33 years. To read more about this case please click here.

Please note that this case is intended to illustrate a warehouse case that we have handled. Not all of our results are listed, and this result should not be intended as a guarantee or promise of a similar outcome. Please understand that we give every client the attention and dedication that they deserve, but every case is different and the outcome of any case depends on factors unique to that case.

Our Law Firm Handles Warehouse Injury Compensation Claims

If you have been seriously injured or lost a loved one in a warehouse accident, your best course of action is to consult with an experienced Workers’ compensation lawyer.

At Riddle & Brantley, our attorneys have extensive experience in workers’ compensation cases. Partner Chris Brantley is certified as a workers’ compensation specialist by the North Carolina State Bar. Attorney Adam Smith is also certified as a specialist in workers’ compensation. We have a track record of success in workers’ compensation matters, as you can see from our case results.

Our team knows the workers’ compensation system well, and we serve as dedicated legal advocates for workers injured in warehousing and all types of workplace accidents. We have been helping injured workers for decades, and we are committed to actively pursuing the maximum benefits you are entitled to receive. Contact our office for a free case evaluation and speak with one of our Jacksonville workers compensation lawyers.

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