The U.S. Department of Labor is investigating two fatal workplace accidents that involve Amazon.com, Inc. The first accident resulted in the death of a 57-year-old man. The later of the two accidents occurred at an Amazon fulfillment center on June 1 in Carlisle, Pennsylvania and resulted in a 52-year-old woman being killed.
Amazon has been under fire for treatment of its workers. For business purposes, Amazon has been building more warehouses in an effort to speed up delivery of products and both of the deaths of the workers occurred at Amazon warehouse facilities.
One of the workers was crushed to death in December 2013 when the worker while sorting packages and being caught up in a conveyor system. The Pennsylvania worker died after being pinned between shelving and the pallet jack that she was operating.
Concerning the first accident the Occupational Safety and Health Administration cited a number of companies for “serious violations” of safety rules. An OSHA investigation is continuing concerning the death of the worker in Pennsylvania.
Accidents like this will impact a large number of people. One of the workers had four children and seven grandchildren. The Pennsylvania worker had two children and four grandchildren. She was also described as a widow who had survived breast cancer. As receiving compensation due to a workplace accident can be complex, victims and family members may need to speak to attorneys experienced in the workers’ compensation area.
Warehouse accidents such as these are common. As the work deals physical exertion along with machinery and materials being moved around, the risk of an accident occurring is great. Sadly workplaces do not always put in place safety procedures that would prevent accidents from occurring.
Source: AOL Jobs, “Apparently This Is How Much An Amazon Worker’s Life Is Worth,” Carol Kopp, June 15, 2014
