Malfunctioning Equipment and Its Role in Warehouse Injuries

February 21, 2024 | Personal Injury

Warehouse environments are fast-paced and highly demanding, often requiring employees to meet quotas to avoid disciplinary action or earn bonuses. To maximize productivity and save time, they generally use a significant amount of equipment and machinery to streamline important work processes and minimize the amount of lifting employees must do. However, using equipment comes with its own issues. Equipment is not infallible, and when it fails, it can cause serious or even fatal injuries. It’s crucial that warehouse workers in Southern California know their rights and advocate for themselves after an injury caused by an unsafe work environment. We can help; at Pisegna & Zimmerman, we are passionate about helping injured workers secure the compensation they are owed. We’re ready to meet with you over Zoom and manage your documents with DocuSign, so you don’t even have to come into our office. Give us a call at 818-888-8888 to set up a consultation with our team.

Injuries are rife within the warehousing industry. In the transportation and warehousing industry, the average injury rate is 4.8 injuries per 100 full-time workers in one year. That is over 1.5 times higher than the average of 3.0 per 100 workers across all industries. When you look specifically at warehousing and storage, it’s even higher—5.5 per 100 full-time workers.

Types of Malfunctioning Equipment

The type of equipment you use in your warehouse plays a role in the type of injuries you may suffer in an accident. Common types of equipment at risk of malfunctioning in this setting include:

• Forklifts: Forklifts can be incredibly dangerous when in the wrong hands. They are a critical piece of equipment in most warehouses, allowing workers to transport heavy loads with minimal physical effort. Brake failure, steering problems, and hydraulic system failures may result in accidents and tip-overs that put operators and others in grave danger.
• Pallet jacks: Pallet jacks make it easy for workers to move palletized goods around the warehouse or between warehouses. But when they fail, they put operators and other employees at risk of injury. Potential issues include wheel misalignment, hydraulic leaks, and faulty brakes. When these issues occur, they make the pallet jack much harder to maneuver. The operator is at greater risk of hurting themselves trying to maneuver it or accidentally causing an accident.
• Loading dock equipment: Loading docks are a place of significant activity in a warehouse, often bustling with tons of equipment and employees. Dock levelers, dock plates, and other pieces of equipment may malfunction and lead to preventable injuries among employees.
• Conveyor systems: Conveyor systems provide a convenient way of streamlining material handling processes, but they are also prone to failings that can put people in danger. Workers who are under tight deadlines often try to fix jams and slipped belts on their own in order to avoid delays, resulting in an unsafe work environment. This puts them in serious danger of fatal or catastrophic injuries.

Why Are Equipment Failures So Common?

Warehouse equipment is under enormous strain every single day. The amount of hours it’s in use on a weekly basis means that repairs and inspections are required on a routine basis. But when maintenance is necessary, warehouse owners and managers don’t always get it checked out right away. Doing so means taking the equipment out of commission, slowing down production, and potentially missing deadlines. Unfortunately, some managers would rather push equipment to its absolute limits and put workers at risk rather than take care of it immediately.

Much also depends on the age of the equipment in your warehouse. If your facility has aging equipment, it can break down or malfunction more often than newer equipment. Additionally, it can be more difficult to find repair professionals capable of repairing older equipment. This means long wait times and potentially working with unsafe equipment in the meantime.

Consequences for Warehouse Workers

Warehouse workers suffer the most when it comes to malfunctioning equipment. Potential consequences include:

• Crush injuries
• Lacerations, including those that may be disabling or disfiguring
• Muscle sprains and strains
• Amputations
• Falls

These issues also put workers at risk of psychological harm, as serious injuries can cause significant mental trauma. Prompt treatment for both physical injuries and mental health concerns is essential for injured workers’ well-being.

Contact Pisegna & Zimmerman to Fight for Full and Fair Compensation

If you’ve suffered a warehouse injury during the course of your work, you may be entitled to compensation. If your employer is stopping you from getting the benefits you’re owed, it’s time to talk to the team at Pisegna & Zimmerman. Schedule your Zoom consultation with us now, and know that you don’t even have to come into our office to sign documents—everything is handled over DocuSign. Reach out online or call us at 818-888-8888 today.