Amazon Warehouse Injury Lawyer Elizabeth, NJ
Amazon is a large company that’s worth billions, and so many people use it every day. The sad reality is, that even with OSHA and workplace safety laws, Amazon does not seem to be keeping up to standards for protecting its workers from harm and providing care when they do get hurt while at work. This is a severe issue because there are laws in place that protect workers with non-exempt workmanship.
Amazon’s workers have a history of walking out over health and safety, senators have even written letters to the company about these issues, but Amazon has an unapologetic public campaign going on. They’re “good for the workers”, they’ve made the “job safer” by using robots.
The company continues to insist that Prime Day and holiday rushes are well orchestrated so that injury rates stay “flat” and go “down”. They claim to keep records diligently and know for a fact their injury rates are low.
Internal ports were released by an independent company, and it appears Amazon’s injury rates are going up—in 2019, according to stats, Amazon fulfillment centers recorded 14,000 serious injuries, which required days off from work, job restrictions or worse.
Those robots we mentioned? They seem to be causing more harm than good, by ramping productivity to the point the humans cannot keep up without getting hurt.
What Kind of Injuries Might You Get While Working At Amazon?
There’s a lot of potential injuries, but here are some more common ones. Remember, if you experience an Amazon warehouse injury, reach out to an Amazon warehouse lawyer in Elizabeth, NJ so they can help you with your case.
As an Amazon worker, you may experience slips and falls, fall from great heights, broken bones, fractures, torn ligaments or muscles, and sometimes even brain injuries. The thing about these injuries is, to ensure Amazon cannot deny your workers’ comp you must do the following things:
- Ensure you’re working your scheduled time—you’re supposed to be on the floor, and are on the clock.
- Get medical attention—whether you require a hospital and a ride in an ambulance or go to your doctor’s after work.
- Report your injury to your supervisor, the law gives you thirty days to report, but reporting sooner can ensure the insurer believes you. You should report your accident regardless of it you experience an injury right away. This covers you if you experience an injury later.
- File a workers’ compensation claim form. Amazon may not provide you this form, but you can find it from the State Board of Workers’ Compensation.
File an appeal if the initial claim is denied, and this is where you’ll want a skilled Amazon warehouse injury lawyer in Elizabeth, NJ such as the ones available to you from Rispoli & Borneo, PC. This firm has more than twenty years of legalese under their belt, and offer English, Portuguese, and Spanish languages to further widen and cover a larger group of clients.
What Makes Amazon Warehouses so Dangerous?
An Amazon warehouse injury lawyer in Elizabeth, New Jersey, may be your best hope if you’re seeking financial compensation for your injuries. Amazon warehouses are notorious for unsafe conditions, and there are many obstacles in place if you choose to seek medical care and workers’ compensation.
If you’ve been injured on the job at Amazon, time is of the essence. You have to move quickly to get your claim filed, but the road forward is difficult and oftentimes frustrating. To better understand your fight for financial compensation, it’s best to learn all you can about the hazards of working at Amazon, and how Rispoli & Borneo, P.C. can help.
Workplace Hazards
At Amazon warehouses, workers are expected to meet the daily needs of a fast-paced and oftentimes ruthless company. All warehouses – Amazon or not – emphasize speed and efficiency, but at Amazon, this mindset takes a nasty turn.
Workers are given safety briefings on how to avoid injury, but rarely have the time to put these practices to use. They’re rushed by quotas (and other workers) to get their jobs done on time, and are oftentimes injured as a result. Additionally, employees are constantly pressed to work faster and faster, which leads to a dangerous tradeoff between safety and staying employed.
The culture at Amazon warehouses is oftentimes toxic. Workers in Amazon warehouses have reported being pressured to keep quiet about their injuries, being pressured to keep working through pain, and being pressured to keep up with their fellow employees – the slow ones get fired first.
Unfortunately, it doesn’t seem like Amazon places too much emphasis on the health and safety of their employees. They have received numerous citations from OSHA regarding their unsafe work conditions: Dangerously loud noise levels, fall risks, and poorly-functioning machinery to name a few offenses.
Seeking Medical Care After Your Amazon Warehouse Injury
If you’ve ever been injured on the job, most likely you’re familiar with the process of filing out an accident report. Not so with Amazon. Oftentimes, Amazon doesn’t even present its employees with the necessary paperwork to file workers’ compensation claims, and managers will refer injured employees to AmCare – on-site medical professionals, usually trained EMTs who are meant to care for any workplace injuries.
Unfortunately, AmCare is where many Amazon workplace injury cases end. AmCare employees have the final say whether you get to seek help from an outside medical professional, and they may only provide basic medical care. In fact, Amazon was recently written up for assigning tasks to their AmCare employees that far exceeded their training and certification. If you had to see AmCare, you might need to get in touch with an Amazon warehouse injury lawyer in Elizabeth, NJ.
Contact Rispoli & Borneo, P.C. Today
At Rispoli & Borneo, P.C., we think that workers should be valued and treated with dignity and respect. If you were injured on the job at an Amazon warehouse, you only have a limited amount of time to file a workers’ compensation claim – no matter what you’ve been told by your manager, AmCare specialists, or fellow employees.
Time is of the essence, and a workers’ compensation claim can help you get the care you deserve for your work-related injuries. Don’t let Amazon get the better of you: Reach out to Rispoli & Borneo, P.C., and see how an Elizabeth, NJ Amazon warehouse injury lawyer can help you today.