Iowa Meatpacking is a Hazardous Occupation

Meatpacking is considered one of the most hazardous occupations in the nation resulting in worker injuries and fatalities. The frenetic speed of production requires hundreds of workers to keep up with the pace, even if it means sacrificing their safety and well-being. All sorts of accidents involving power tools, saws, knives, conveyor belts, slippery floors, falling carcasses are more likely when the priority is profit over safety.

Among the injuries meat packers suffer are knife or machinery cuts. The razor sharp tools of the trade combined with overcrowded work areas, lack of training or safety protocols can lead to workers being cut by their own knives and by other workers’ knives. It is not uncommon for workers to sever fingers or hands on machines that are improperly locked-out or inadequately guarded.

Rushed and overworked employees can also suffer crippling arm, hand and wrist injuries from repetitive motion such as carpal tunnel syndrome or tendinitis, making it difficult if not impossible to perform their jobs. These are very serious diseases that often afflict workers whose jobs require repetitive hand movement and exertion, the very job description for many in the meat packing profession.

Lifting and hoisting injuries can also wreak havoc on the bodies of workers. Back injuries can result from loading and unloading meat from trucks and from moving meat, meat racks, or meat trees along overhead rails. Sometimes workers are struck by heavy objects falling from the trucks or hangers in the process.

If you have been injured in a workplace accident you deserve to be compensated for your injuries and lost wages. The personal injury/workers compensation Law Offices of John T. Hemminger can help. Our firm regularly represents injured workers from Iowa meatpacking plants such as Amend Packing Company, Des Moines Co., Iowa Pacific Processors Incorporated, Farmland Foods, Pine Ridge Farms, Tyson Foods, Swan Packing Incorporated, .J.B. Swift and more. Contact us today for assistance with a meat packing plant injury or workers’ compensation claim.