We have helped just about every type of worker imaginable over the last 29 years. This includes a lot of warehouse and factory workers. Within those locations there is a specific job that comes with its own risks. I am talking about workers who are employed as pickers.
A picker, also known as an order selector, locates items for shipping. They read tickets and are constantly looking up and down shelves to help fulfill orders. So they have the lifting and slip and fall risks that regular warehouse employees have. It’s a very physically demanding job.
The unique risk they have is a repetitive trauma injury to their neck. Here is what an injured worker I talked to recently described about their job:
I had a neck injury that required surgery and it’s from repetitive movement with my neck. I’ve worked for this company for 14 years. I’m a picker that was working 10+ hour shifts looking for flashing lights on a bay. The heights of the bays are over my head and I’m 6ft. There are also some at feet level. And it’s very fast pace. And you have a cardboard line behind you and it’s over your head that you have to put boxes in. I’ve also stocked the lanes from behind. They are much taller in the back. And sometimes heavy product goes above your head.
Imagine doing this type of work day after day for over a decade. Do you think that would put some strain on your body? Of course it would. For his worker it resulted in a neck fusion. We have seen many other pickers with similar injuries and also back problems, torn rotator cuffs, torn ulnar nerves, carpal tunnel, labrum tears and many other problems.
There are also one off injuries. A box hits your head and causes a concussion or neck injury. You lift something and blow out your back. A forklift runs over your foot and breaks it. Or it backs into you and crushes your leg. And of course there are slip and falls on wet floors from spills or trips over objects on the ground.
Sadly, some employers treat these valuable workers as disposable and try to make them work through injury. Or they will deny or delay their work comp benefits. Others will lie about your eligibility (every worker is eligible) for work comp benefits.
You are entitled to 100% of your medical bills being paid and do not need health insurance. You are also compensated for your time off work if your doctor takes you off or gives you restrictions they can not accommodate. These are heavy duty jobs, so any “light duty” work is probably not going to be available. Beware the employer who says they will accommodate you but then pressures you into doing more. You should not go beyond what your doctor recommends.
When you are all better, you are entitled to a settlement. How much depends on your injury, treatment and recovery. If you can’t go back to your old job and they have no work for you, they have to keep paying you while you look for work. This could potentially make your case worth hundreds of thousands of dollars.
We have helped hundreds of pickers and warehouse workers throughout Illinois and would love to help you. Please call us any time for a free case review at 312-346-5578. We cover all of Illinois.
