An accident in a warehouse. Woman with smartphone and her colleague lying on the floor next to a forklift.

This page only  discusses work injuries at your place of employment. Remember,  Worker’s Comp claims may also occur off-site, for example, see my page on Construction Sites and  truckers  over the road.

When the worker suffers injury on the employer’s premises, whether a warehouse, assembly line,  or loading dock, worker’s comp laws apply.  The worker may suffer injuries  on the assembly line, walking between work stations,  loading or off-loading freight. Worker’s comp covers all these common scenarios and more.

For example, the injury may result from using a tool at a stationary post, or slipping on a pool of oil while walking to the supply room. Worker’s compensation benefits cover  injuries at work. You must obey reasonable OSHA or employer safety rules.  Yet, violating these rules don’t automatically disqualify the claim

Trauma at the Plant

The most common workplace injury, not surprisingly,  occurs at the workplace. The employee’s finger gets mangled using a tool. This is a  “traumatic injury”.  A traumatic injury happens suddenly.  We know the date and time of the event.

For example, you work at the auto plant in “horse collar operations”.   There, you move one end of the front end assembly of an automobile from the conveyor and attach it to the chassis.   A vacuum tank  fell on your leg while you removed a radiator from the line.  Your knee is mangled, consequently, you need knee surgery. Worker’s compensation clearly covers this injury.

Repetitive Injury on the Hog Farm

You repeat the same motions over and over  for long periods of time. This causes “repetitive injury”.  In a data entry job, the employee makes thousands of keystrokes daily.  Eventually, there is soreness in the ring finger. Sometimes the pinky goes numb.  These symptoms  may indicate carpal tunnel syndrome of the wrist.

In the plant setting, say you work on a hog farm.  You are a  deboner on the “picnic line”.  The picnic is actually part of the pork shoulder.  You drag 300 pound hogs from the kill floor and hang them on chains.  From the chains,  each hog comes by your station.  You cut the picnic off the hog.  You do this repeatedly, all shift, for a good period of time, perhaps months or years.  All of this repetitious gripping and squeezing and pulling causes carpal tunnel syndrome, and cubital tunnel syndrome. Cubital tunnel is like carpal tunnel, but in the elbow.  Worker’s comp covers these types of repetitive injuries. Unlike the traumatic injury which occurs suddenly, no date and time of injury exists for the repetitive injury.  So,  the date your doctor diagnosed your injury, we use as the date of the accident.

Slip and Fall in the Warehouse

Let’s say you walk from one station to another, carrying lumber.  You can’t see the ground and trip over a load of bricks one of your co-workers laid in a place they weren’t supposed to.  You face-plant, injuring your neck. Not your fault.  Still,  worker’s compensation covers you, because you were performing work duties.

Now, same scenario, you walk to another work station, and trip over your own shoe laces.  You’re still covered by worker’s compensation!  There are 2 points here:

  • First,  in worker’s comp we don’t have to prove whose fault it was that you fell.   Also work comp, does not pay extra money for pain and suffering.  Compare if you fall at the grocery store on your personal time: you sue the grocer, you may ask for an award for pain and suffering. But, you must prove the store is at fault. I discuss civil lawsuits here.

  • Second,  worker’s comp won’t cover all workplace injuries. Your work injury has to 
    “come from a hazard or risk unrelated to the employment to which workers would have been equally exposed outside of and unrelated to the employment in normal nonemployment life.” Missouri Statute 287.020.3(2)(b). 

This means you could trip and fall anywhere, so the loading dock did not present an increased hazard of falling. You are equally likely to fall outside of work.  Employers deny Employee’s claim, using this argument.  However, our courts have decided this injury is covered.  Why?  Because work required you to be there at the loading dock.  You would not fall if work hadn’t required your presence.

Summary

In conclusion, worker’s compensation law covers a variety of workplace  injuries. The injured employee could be hurt through the fault of a co-worker, or by his or her own clumsiness.  The injury may be traumatic, like breaking a bone with a definite date and time of injury.  The injury may be repetitive, like carpal tunnel syndrome, occurring only after many hours, weeks and months.

For more Worker’s Compensation information, click here.