United Parcel Services (UPS) is a logistics and package delivery company founded in 1907in Seattle, Washington. Currently, its headquarters arein Atlanta Georgia. UPS provides logistics services worldwide, such as:
- Ground delivery
- Ocean freight
- Air shipping
- Transportation
- Distribution
- Contract logistics
UPS employ nearly 500,000 people globally with over 400,000 of its employees located in the United States. Many of the employees are responsible for pick-up and delivery of packages. Other employees’ duties preparing packages for shipping. UPS delivers over five billion packages per year. To keep up with the high demand, the employees must work effectively and quickly to make sure deliveries are made on time. Workplace injuries while employees are focused on working hard and being productive.
UPS and workers’ compensation
Accidents happen in the workplace every day. Employee suffer injuries and illnesses during the course of the employment. The injuries may require the employee to seek medical care and miss days from work. The expenses the employee incur can be an overwhelming financial hardship. To receive compensation for a work-related injury, an employee must notify her employer of the injury as soon as possible after the incident to make claim. The employer must handle the claim through the business’ workers’ compensation insurance.
In New Jersey, employers must have employment insurance that covers all employees in case they are injured in a job-related incident. However, both states allow employers to choose the source of the insurance. They may get an workers’ compensation insurance policy. Employer may also receive approval to have self-insurance with the necessary amount of funds in the account.
Workers’ compensation is no-fault insurance that provides medical benefits and wage compensation to the injured employee. It is the exclusive remedy for compensation in New Jersey for employees injured in the workplace. If the initial claim with the employer is denied, the employee can file a workers’ compensation claim. If the employer’s workplace is in New Jersey, the employee files his formal claim petition with the New Jersey Division of Workers’ Compensation.
When an injured worker files a workers’ compensation claim, they may be eligible to receive the following benefits:
- Medical benefits
- Partial disability benefits
- Total disability benefits
- Permanent disability benefits
UPS workplace hazards
Hazards are everywhere in a workplace. An employee is at risk for injury in an office building just as well as in a warehouse. UPS handles and deliver packages that heavy and can be double the height and width of the employee who has to carry it. Injuries may occur at UPS that are foreseeable such as falling down, moving objects that are extremely heavy, overuse of parts of the body.
Delivery driver may suffer a work-related injury with driving the delivery vehicle. On route to a delivery, the driver may be involved in a car accident and sustain injuries. Delivery drivers have additional hazards to face during the course of their employment. They remove the heavy package from the vehicle to deliver to customers. They may have to climb flights of stairs or walk long distances. The pressure and weight of carrying boxes or pulling hand trucks is can result in injuries to the employee’s body.
Shoulder injuries at UPS
UPS employees use their shoulders to help lift items above their head, to help stack boxes into delivery vehicles, and to push and pull hand trucks or dollies. Repetitive movements during the workday also may account for pain in an employer’s shoulder. Injuries may occur from the stress and weight placed on the shoulders from carrying heavy packages.
Some shoulder injuries only require the employee to get some rest and ice the painful areas to soothe the pain. Other types of injuries are more severe and last longer. Some workplace shoulder injuries include:
- Shoulder dislocation
- Shoulder separation
- Rotator cuff tear
- Bursitis
Different situations may cause an employee to suffer a shoulder injuries, such as:
- Falls
- Slips
- Overuse
- Exertion
- Hit or hard impact
- Pulling shoulder to hard or too far back
Hand injuries at UPS
As delivery and transportation company, UPS employees need to have pain-free and fully functioning hands to handle packages. Workers in every position use their hands at work whether to pick-up or deliver a package or to use the computer for track and scheduling shipping items.
Hands may be the part of the body that employees pay attention to the least. It is instinctual to reach for an object and pick it up. Workers may not take a second to see if the object has sharp corners or is too heavy. Then, they suffer a hand injury. Hand injuries in the workplace also are caused by employees not paying attention and causing an injury to another worker.
Work-related hand injuries that occur include:
- Cuts
- Scrapes
- Laceration
- Fractures
- Detachments
- Crushing
- Stress
- Strain
- Sprain
Hiring an attorney
Workers’ compensation claims can be complex and time-consuming. The claims process can be overwhelming while you recover from your injury. It is best to contact an experienced worker’s compensation attorney to protect your rights and find out the eligible benefits for your workplace injury.
Petrillo and Goldberg Law, founded in 1993, has over 25 years of handling cases in the law areas of personal injury, motor vehicle accidents, wrongful death, and workers’ compensation. The law firm primarily serves South Jersey communities as well as the metropolitan area of Philadelphia, Pennsylvania. Our attorneys are well-versed in New Jersey law and effectively represent clients.
Our law firm approaches each case with a team-based method. Each attorney in the firm contributes their legal knowledge, skill, and experience to a different stage of the client services. We work diligently to provide superior representation in every case. We advocate for our clients’ rights and fight for their entitled compensation.
