AMAZON WORKER INJURIES ON THE RISE IN PHILADELPHIA FACILITIES
Injured in an Amazon Warehouse Accident Can Call a Amazon Workers’ Compensation Attorney in Philadelphia, PA
Workers at Amazon warehouses and distribution centers in Pennsylvania are substantially more likely to be seriously injured than employees at other businesses.
Despite Amazon being one of the world’s largest and most profitable businesses, it is also one of the most dangerous places to work when compared with similar businesses. The nation’s second largest private employer, Amazon’s serious injury rate for its employees is almost double that for other companies.
Amazon warehouses in Pennsylvania had over twice the number of serious injuries as other companies’ warehouses from 2017 through 2020, according to a recent study. Many of these injuries occur in Amazon warehouses or Amazon distribution centers, where the company emphasizes speed, quota fulfillment, long hours, few breaks and laboring through illness and weather extremes. The injuries are on the rise: Overall serious injury rates among Amazon workers ticked up in Pennsylvania during the past year.
Amazon’s workplace environment contributes to the high rate of employee injuries, and natural disasters have also played a role. During the devastating tornadoes that ravaged the Midwest in December, multiple workers were killed and many more injured in an Amazon warehouse near Edwardsville, Illinois. Other injuries are caused during renovations and construction. In July 2021, a 29-year-old worker was crushed to death while working on a crew constructing a new Amazon facility in North Philadelphia.
“Employees hurt in workplace accidents are entitled to workers’ compensation benefits, even if they are employed temporarily, part-time or seasonally,” says workers’ compensation attorney Larry Pitt, founder of Larry Pitt & Associates. “Amazon is the second largest private employer in the US, with one of the richest people on earth leading it. By comparison, the largest private US employer, Walmart, has an injury rate less than half that of Amazon. Yet, Amazon routinely refuses to address the root causes of the problem or pay workers’ comp claims for its injured employees. Fighting to recover benefits for workers hurt on the job is one of the only ways to hold Amazon accountable.”
According to a recent investigative report from The Philadelphia Inquirer (https://www.inquirer.com/business/amazon-warehouse-jobs-injuries-pennsylvania-20210708.html?outputType=amp), from 2017 through 2020, Amazon warehouses in Pennsylvania, New Jersey and Delaware reported higher rates of injuries that caused employees to miss work or be moved to alternative light-duty, compared to injury rates at non-Amazon warehouses. This data was provided by the Occupational Safety and Health Administration (OSHA) and compiled by the Washington Post. In some Pennsylvania counties, such as Bucks and Philadelphia, Amazon’s serious injury rates were more than double those at warehouses run by other companies.
Last year, Amazon warehouses in Pennsylvania reported 7.2 serious incidents for every 100 employees working full time for a year. By comparison, non-Amazon warehouses in Pennsylvania had a serious injury rate of 3.9 per 100 full-time workers in the same period.
“Pennsylvania’s serious injury rate at Amazon warehouses is almost double that of other employers in our state, and worker injuries at Pennsylvania’s Amazon facilities are higher than at Amazon facilities in surrounding states,” Pitt says. “We have a serious problem.”
Some of the most common Amazon workplace injuries include repetitive stress to the back, neck and hands—everything from ruptured discs to muscle damage, tendonitis and carpal tunnel syndrome. Head and spine injuries, broken bones, heart attacks and other catastrophic injuries, and even deaths, have also been reported. Pitt says even when the employee complies with requirements for timely reporting their job-related injuries, Amazon frequently denies responsibility or minimizes benefits unjustly.
“Railroading loyal workers hurt while producing profit for the company is outrageous but, unfortunately, business as usual for Amazon,” Pitt says. “Fighting this aspect of Amazon culture is the only way to change the dire statistics.”
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Injured in an Amazon Warehouse Accident? Call Our Amazon Workers’ Compensation Attorney in Philadelphia, PA
With 40 years’ experience handling workers’ compensation claims throughout Pennsylvania, Larry Pitt & Associates is ready to help if you have been injured in an Amazon warehouse or distribution center. Learn your rights by calling 888-PITT-LAW or 877-748-8539 or online at https://www.larrypitt.com/contact/.
Larry Pitt
Larry Pitt & Associates
+1 215-546-0011
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