Warehouse workers job duties can cause low back or neck injuries resulting in workers compensation benefits. Warehouse or loading dock or shipping and receiving workers are primarily responsible for receiving, sorting, storing, taking inventory, keeping records and organizing for the shipping of merchandise stored in the warehouse or distribution center. The workers are also operate automated equipment such as forklifts, conveyor belts, rail cars and high stackers. The work is physically strenuous so warehouse workers have to be fit. Workers receive on-the-job training to prepare them for their responsibilities.
Warehouse or loading dock workers receive goods delivered for storage. They often unload the merchandise from the trucks and check to ensure that they match with the delivery documents such as the bill of lading, shipping invoice or delivery note. Unloading trucks is physical and repetitive work that can contribute or directly cause a bulging or herniated disc in the low back.
Although warehouse workers manually carry merchandise off a truck or ship which causes lumbar disc problems, there are times they use equipment like hand trucks or forklifts. Looking up while operating some warehouse equipment can contribute to neck or cervical spine degeneration or herniated discs resulting in fusion surgery.
Distribution centers or warehouses store products and it is up to the warehouse workers to sort the deliveries out and group the same type of products together. This often involves bending and twisting and lifting at the waist so the low back or lumbar spine is damaged over time. Looking up and lifting overhead contributes to neck or cervical spine problems resulting in cervical radiculopathy, or pain or numbness down the arm.
The warehouse worker often must label stock items and enter the information in the computer. Product labeling can require repetitive movements, often in awkward positions putting stress on the low back or neck.
When he or she fills orders, a warehouse worker or shipping clerk retrieves the items for dispatch from their various storage locations and then prepares the merchandise for shipping. Again, a physical job that over time can contribution to spinal disc degeneration as seen on MRI or CT scans.
Warehouse workers must reach with hands and arms from floor level to overhead. The weight is usually lifting and/or moving objects 10-50 lbs occasionally lift and/or move objects that weigh more than 100 lbs. Frequently required to stand, walk, stoop, kneel, crouch or crawl. McCormick Law Office attorneys in Milwaukee, Wisconsin represent warehouse workers injured on the job in single accidents or from job duties over time. The best workers compensation settlements come from trustworthy expert medical opinions and clearly documented incident records. Believe in better.
