Baltimore Workers’ Compensation Lawyers: Poultry Workers
June 6, 2017
A new study found that an average of 27 poultry workers are injured every day in the United States. The study, conducted by the National Employment Law Project (NELP), utilized data collected by the U.S. Occupational Safety & Health Administration (OSHA). Authors of the report note that the sheer number of workplace accidents reported in the meat and poultry processing industry is shocking. Employers reported 17,533 severe injuries between January 2015 and September 2016.
According to the report, workers in the meatpacking industry are twice as likely to be injured on the job than workers in other fields. The report also analyzed data collected by the Bureau of Labor Statistics. This lists the meatpacking industry at number 12 on the list of most dangerous occupations. The most dangerous places of employment are:
- General medical and surgical hospitals
- Support services for oil and gas operations
- Commercial and institutional building construction
Those who are employed in saw mills, the auto industry, or the steel industry are less likely to be injured on the job than those employed in the meatpacking industry. Predictably, the nation’s largest meatpacking companies had the highest number of workplace injuries, although two much smaller companies ranked fourth and sixth out of close to 15,000 companies reporting to OSHA.
According to the lead author of the NELP poultry worker study, these injuries are preventable. Poultry workers work hard every day so that Americans can have inexpensive food to put on their tables. These important contributors to society should not have to sacrifice their health and wellness to get a paycheck.
Even more troubling, the meatpacking industry turns a large profit, and thus, has the resources to provide safety training and protective gear to employees. However, these companies often short staff plants, or fail to provide prompt and adequate medical care to injured employees.
In response to the new study, a National Chicken Council (NCC) spokesman stated that occupational injuries are at an all-time low—and only slightly higher than the incidence rate in the entire food-manufacturing sector. The NCC maintains that the injury rate in recent years has hovered around 4.3, representing an 81 percent decrease from 1994, when the rate was 22.7.
There is no rate of acceptable injury in any industry. Every employee is valuable and important. If you have been injured on the job, you may be entitled to Workers’ Compensation benefits that include compensation for lost wages, past and future medical expenses, and vocational rehabilitation. Benefits are immediate, and injured employees need not prove that their employer was negligent to be eligible for compensation.
Baltimore Workers’ Compensation Lawyers at LeViness, Tolzman & Hamilton Obtain Benefits for Injured Poultry Workers
Employees are every company’s most valuable asset. At LeViness, Tolzman & Hamilton, we are committed to fighting for workers who have been injured on the job. Let us do the work so you can focus on what matters—your recovery. To schedule a free consultation with the right lawyer, call the experienced Baltimore Workers’ Compensation lawyers at LeViness, Tolzman & Hamilton today at 844-556-4LAW (4529) or contact us online. With offices located in Baltimore, Columbia, Glen Burnie, and Towson, Maryland, we represent clients in and around Baltimore City and Baltimore County.
