Is There a Risk Factor Present While Unloading Boxes?

Most Washington residents do their best at work every day, putting all their effort into accomplishing tasks efficiently. But what if our best effort to succeed in the workplace puts us at risk of injury? Loading and unloading freight is an important aspect of the trucking and warehouse industries with many regulations and safety standards in place to prevent injuries. Despite these standards, the Occupational Safety and Health Administration (OSHA) consistently singles out loading docks as high-risk work environments. Loading dock and warehouse fatal injuries increased by an astonishing 23% between 2020 and 2021 and have a non-fatal injury rate that’s higher than the all-industry national average.

Why Do Accidents and Injuries Occur While Loading and Unloading Freight?

There’s a natural element of injury risk involved in the loading, unloading, transportation, and moving of freight; however, decades of research and the implementation of appropriate safety measures help to minimize safety hazards. Unfortunately, not all freight industry business owners, supervisors, and employees adhere to proper procedures. Many entities work together to move, load, and unload boxes and other freight. It only takes one party’s negligence to result in a serious injury. Common causes of injuries in the freight loading, trucking, and warehouse industries include the following:

• Improper lifting of boxes and cargo
• Repetitive motion
• Slip-and-fall accidents and falls from loading docks
• Forklift accidents
• Struck-by accidents from unsecured or falling boxes or other freight items
• Improperly stacked cargo/toppling boxes
• Defective loading and unloading equipment or mechanical failures
• Toxic exposures from hazardous cargo spills

Struck-by injuries are the second-highest cause of workplace fatality in the freight industry, after trucking traffic accidents.

What Types of Injuries Occur During Lifting, Loading, and Unloading Cargo?

The freight industry—a key component of the nation’s supply chain—requires unpacking containers, lifting, moving, stacking, loading, and securing cargo. These tasks all place workers at risk of injuries, especially when involved parties fail to follow security measures. Common injuries include the following:

• Back strains, sprains, and herniated discs
• Repetitive motion injuries
• Sprains and other soft-tissue injuries to knees, shoulders, and wrists
• Head trauma/traumatic brain injuries
• Fractures
• Crush injuries
• Abrasions
• Contusions
• Spinal cord injuries
• Toxic exposure illnesses

An employee who works in the loading industry faces the risk of serious injuries that impact their ability to continue working, often causing financial hardship.

What Are the Options for Compensation After a Warehouse or Freight Loading Injury?

Employees who suffer injuries at work have a right to file a compensation claim to recover damages like medical expenses and lost wages. The most common way to recover damages is to file a workers’ compensation claim against an employer’s workers’ comp insurance. This type of insurance protects employees from financial losses while also safeguarding employers from lawsuits. It is not necessary to prove an employer’s negligence or another employee’s fault in a workers’ compensation claim.

Depending on the circumstances of the injury, some injury victims recover compensation through a lawsuit against a third party, such as a contractor or the manufacturer of defective loading or cargo-securing equipment. A lawsuit allows compensation for non-economic damages such as pain and suffering as well as economic damages. An experienced personal injury lawyer in Kent, Washington helps a workplace injury victim determine the best strategy for recovering compensation in their unique case.