Despite taking precautions, hazards can happen in every workplace. Working in a grocery store may not be considered to be dangerous, but unlike other retail stores, their employees are also at risk of workplace injury while performing their day- to- day duties. Operating a multi-faceted store can always put an employee at risk of being seriously injured or killed while performing their respective roles. Workers at grocery stores work for long hours and are usually paid low — wages. As a result, when they are injured and need to take time off from their work, they and their families face significant financial difficulties. Fortunately, Florida worker’s compensation benefits allow injured workers to pay for their medical treatments and wages when they are hurt or injured while doing their job.
Common Accidents That Can Cause Injury to Supermarket Workers
To keep up with the competitions, many grocery stores feature non-food-related departments like household goods, automotive parts or gardening sections.
Apart from stocking thousands of products on the shelves, workers at a grocery store are also required to check food items at the cash counter, nurture plants in the gardening section and prepare bakery and deli foods, often increasing the risk of workplace injury. Listed below are some common hazards that are most likely to impact the safety of workers in a grocery store.
Lifting: Working at the grocery often requires the workers to lift heavy goods and boxes when stocking shelves or while storing the surplus products in the warehouse. This can often lead to strains and sprains and other injuries related to lifting.
Slips, Trips and fall: When there are drinks or food spilled on the floor, it can make it slick, causing employees to trip or slip, leading to injury. Also, employees at a grocery are at risk of suffering a dangerous fall from height if they do not use a ladder while unloading goods at the store or stocking up products on the shelves.
Be Hit by Heavy Items: Workers at the grocery store can often get hit accidentally by machinery used in the store or by heavy boxes of canned goods causing serious injuries such as brain injury or sometimes even death.
Cut and Burns: Employees working in the butcher department are at risk of suffering from cut injuries when working with power saws and sharp knives when cutting meat. Similarly, employees working at the bakery, deli and produce departments are also likely to suffer cut injuries when using knives. Workers employed in the food preparation department are more at risk of experiencing injuries from burns when baking or cooking foods for sale.
Overexertion Injuries: Physical exertion caused due to performing repetitive movement throughout their long work shift can cause inflammation of joints and ligaments leading to chronic pain and limitation in movements. As a result of this workplace injury, workers are no longer able to endure the physical demands of their job.
Workplace Violence: If a grocery store or gas station convenience store is robbed, cashiers and baggers working at a grocery store are more likely to become victims of workplace violence. Workers who do night shifts or work late are also more likely to experience violence at their workplace.
Working in a Standing Position: Most supermarket employees need to stand for prolonged periods when getting products ready for sale or while serving customers. This can often lead to leg, back and foot injuries.
Transportation Accidents: Workers are at a high risk of getting injured if they are hit by a vehicle when collecting shopping carts in the parking lot.
Injuries Suffered by Workers at a Grocery Store
Most common injuries that most grocery store workers go through are:
- Muscle strains and back injuries
- Tennis elbow
- Tendinitis
- Trigger Finger
- Carpal Tunnel syndrome
- Rotator Cuff Injuries
In addition to these injuries, grocery workers are also at risk of suffering injuries in a slip and fall accident or while working with sharp objects. Some of these types of workplace injuries include:
- Burns
- Amputations
- Lacerations
- Traumatic brain or head injury
- Broken bones or fracture
- Internal organ damage
- Spinal cord injuries
- Death
Are you suffering from a workplace injury? Contact Sternberg | Forsythe, P.A. today our workers’ compensation attorneys we have helped injured workers get the worker’s compensation benefits they are entitled to. Consultations are always free and you pay nothing unless we recover compensation for you.