Fast food in the United States sure has changed since I was a kid. McDonald’s, Wendy’s, Burger King, Taco Bell and KFC were the main options. Now we have a few healthier options to choose from including Subway, Panera, and Chipotle.
Chipotle (which is completely company owned, meaning no franchises) likes to advertise that their food is made fresh. They pride themselves on the fact that there are no freezers in their restaurants. When you get to the front of the line at a Chipotle, you usually see an employee or two at the grills cooking up the meat.
This method of fast food may be great for the customer at Chipotle, but there are some challenges for employees of the restaurant chain.
First, employees are asked to regularly lift and carry bags weighing up to 50 pounds (per the workers we have helped in the past). This is a lot of weight to lift for people who don’t weigh much or aren’t very strong. Even the strongest employees might develop an injury after lifting 50 pound bags many times a shift, over the course of several months or years.
Whether it is an acute back injury from a single lift, or a shoulder injury from repetitive lifting, injured Chipotle employees should file a workers compensation claim and seek the benefits they deserve.
Another potential cause of work injuries at Chipotle are burns from the grill. Standing over a hot grill and cooking for hours at a time can lead to burns, even when employees are doing their best to be alert and safe. There is not a huge amount of room between the grill and the food line, so cooks get bumped from time to time. That can lead to burn injuries.
Speaking of the food line, workers scooping the food and preparing the burritos and bowls are doing the same motions over and over again, which can lead to repetitive injures. Think of the number of scooping motions needed for 1 burrito or bowl, then think about the lunch and dinner rush plus all of the Door Dash orders they complete, each and every day.
There are over 3,300 Chipotle locations in the United States, and about 165 of them can be found in Illinois. If you are a Chipotle worker who was injured on the job, you are likely entitled to workers compensation benefits to cover your medical expenses and time off of work. And you would be entitled to a settlement when you are all better.
If you would like a free consultation about a possible case and how we can help and protect you, contact us an time at 312-346-5578. We help injured workers everywhere in Illinois.
