San Jose Amazon Work Injury Attorney

San Jose Amazon Work Injury Lawyer

Amazon is a company that often seems to stand in an industry of its own. Long-holding industry dominance in the warehouse and shipping sector, Amazon employs about a third of all total warehouse workers. At the same time, it’s been reported that Amazon fulfillment centers are responsible for over half of all workplace injuries in the entire warehouse industry. If you’re one of the victims of workplace injuries at Amazon, hiring a San Jose Amazon work injury lawyer could be your next step.

Amazon workers in San Jose, Hollister, Milpitas, Fremont, Newark, Tracy, Patterson, and many more cities around Northern California, have the right to a safe working environment, but high demands and unsustainable work performance expectations can lead to an increased rate of accidents. Amazon’s promises to its customers, such as fast delivery times, should never be prioritized in place of worker safety. If you’ve been injured while working at Amazon, contact a San Jose Amazon warehouse workers’ comp attorney for a consultation on your case.

Amazon Work Injury Representation in San Jose, CA

Dedicating their practice to exclusively helping injured workers receive fair and complete compensation for their workplace injuries, the attorney team at Wiesner English, P.C., has represented San Jose workers across a wide range of industries. Our comprehensive knowledge and experience working with workers’ compensation law and its related practices enable our lawyers to pursue the maximum legally allowed compensation pertaining to your case.

We provide dedicated counsel and personalized attention to each of our clients as we represent them during the claim process. Should issues arise, we are prepared to continue the case from consultation to litigation, trial, and even appeals as warranted. If you’ve been injured while working at Amazon, seek the help of a qualified and skilled attorney who can represent you against such a large and powerful company.

How Does Workers’ Compensation Work in California?

Nearly all workers in California, no matter what industry or job they work in, may be entitled to recover compensation for injuries or harm suffered while performing work-related duties. All employers, including Amazon, are subject to the California Labor Code, which requires all employers to have and maintain valid workers’ compensation insurance. When an employee gets injured, they may file a claim for compensation benefits with Amazon’s insurance company.

Workers’ compensation in California is a no-fault system. This means that employees may be able to file a claim and pursue compensation without needing to prove fault for any wrongdoing. While many employers promptly assist with employees’ claims, some workers can experience delays in their workers’ compensation cases due to possibly uncooperative or obstructive behavior on the side of their employers.

Work injuries are often serious and require immediate attention with as few delays as possible for optimal recovery. By working with a qualified and experienced accident attorney, you may be able to overcome these barriers before they hinder your recovery efforts.

Can I Sue Amazon for Injury at Work?

Just as workers’ compensation laws protect workers from bearing the burden of proving negligence in order to collect compensation for their accident, those same laws protect employers from liability in the event of a workplace accident in most cases. This means you may not be able to sue Amazon for sustaining an injury at work. Instead, California most often requires that you seek workers’ compensation as the exclusive legal remedy.

If Amazon committed a violation, however, you could potentially be eligible to file a case against them for additional damages. Violation examples can range from intentionally harming, concealing responsibility in causing the injury, or causing harm in a context outside of work to failing to maintain current workers’ comp insurance at the time of the incident.

Does Amazon Pay for On-the-Job Injuries?

Because Amazon is subject to the Labor Code in paying for workers’ compensation insurance, it may be exempt from having to pay damages to employees directly for on-the-job injuries suffered. Instead, Amazon’s insurance company may review the employee’s claim and award a benefit amount. If the settlement includes disability payments, they could be paid out to the employee in installments for a set period of time.

How Do I Report Work-Related Injuries to Amazon?

If you suffer an injury at work, whether by an accident or by long-term strain or exposure, you should consider informing the supervisor on duty of the injury as soon as possible and consider immediately seeking medical attention. Once Amazon has been made formally aware of the injury, and once you’ve been treated, then you can officially file a claim for compensation.

To report work-related injuries to Amazon, you can file a claim with the insurance company for workers’ compensation that includes the following information:

• Time, date, and location of the incident
• All specific injuries sustained
• How the accident or incident occurred
• How the injury has since impacted your life

It is likely that throughout the process, the insurance company will request further information from you. You should consider keeping all this information handy so that there are no unnecessary delays due to documentation. Additionally, it is useful to keep careful track of all records, such as medical records, correspondence, and the official accident report.

What Are the Most Common Injuries That Occur at Amazon?

Amazon has a high rate of injuries across the company. All warehouses typically hover around 3.3 cases per 100 workers. Company-wide, Amazon sees an average of around 6.8 cases per 100 workers year after year.

This rate is higher for its California locations. The Golden State is home to more fulfillment centers for the company than anywhere else. Across those locations, California workers at Amazon experience injuries at an average of 7.9 cases per 100 workers.

Many believe that much of the high rate of incidents over the last decade has likely been due to the company’s high-volume customer demand allegedly influencing its rigorous quotas for worker output, which are difficult to sustain safely for long periods of time. Amazon workers could be vulnerable to safety issues and a higher-than-normal risk of experiencing an injury-causing accident.

Most commonly, rushing, inattention, and oversight, among other factors, could lead to the following types of injuries:

• Slip and fall injuries. Slipping can cause sprains, fractures, and head injuries, while falling can lead to serious injuries, such as back injuries, head injuries, broken bones, and even death. The Occupational Safety and Health Administration (OSHA) reports slip and fall accidents as the highest-occurring type of accident in workplaces. Amazon workers may slip or trip over cluttered areas, uneven floors, and wet surfaces and may fall off ladders and platforms or when working on or near shelves.
• Falling object injuries. Objects that fall from a height, especially heavy objects, can cause concussions, brain trauma, fractures, lacerations, and contusions if they strike a worker. Other objects, such as large merchandise, storage containers, boxes, crates, and pallets, can cause crush injuries if, upon falling, they land on a worker. Amazon workers are often in an environment full of potential hazards with the potential capability to cause great physical injury.
• Forklift injuries. Forklifts, if not properly operated, have the capacity to cause severe injuries, such as broken bones, crush injuries, impalement, stab injuries, and fatalities. Forklifts are one of the most common machines operated in warehouses and are also some of the most deadly.Amazon workers frequently make use of machines like these on the floor, and improper training, fatigue, inattention, or general misuse may lead to serious accidents.
• Hazardous material injuries. Exposure to harmful chemicals, hazardous materials, or other substances, if not properly stored or used, could cause eye damage, burns, respiratory issues, and poisoning.It’s possible for Amazon workers to be exposed to various types of potentially harmful chemicals throughout the property of the fulfillment centers.
• Repetitive strain injuries. Tendonitis, bursitis, and carpal tunnel syndrome are a few of the types of repetitive strain issues that affect muscles and joints. Amazon workers who frequently lift heavy objects, bend over, and handle scanners and other handheld devices with a high frequency of repetition can suffer these injuries.

What Does a Workers’ Compensation Claim Cover?

Worker’s compensation is designed to help insulate employees from financial loss following an injury. This involves providing compensation for qualifying expenses, reimbursement, and coverage. After reviewing your case and a course of treatment, the insurance company may evaluate the claim and present a benefit award that could contain compensation for any of the following:

• Medical expenses incurred
• Lost income and reduced earning capacity due to recovery
• Long-term care costs
• Funeral expenses for cases of wrongful death

The insurance company may handle a compensation claim without issue, covering the majority of losses. However, in some cases, one or more parties may challenge the nature of the injuries, the compensation that is owed, or the injury itself as having not been a covered workplace injury. Partnering with a skilled workers’ comp attorney can help to uphold your rights and fight for a fair settlement.

Your San Jose Amazon Workers’ Comp Attorney

If you are an Amazon worker who has suffered an injury in the workplace, it is likely essential that you begin working with a qualified and experienced injury attorney as soon as possible. The team at Wiesner English, P.C., has a dedicated practice that exclusively serves injured workers seeking fair and complete compensation for their injuries. To speak with a member of our team today, contact our office and get started with a consultation.