Amazons Troubled Past With Injury Reporting
Amazon employs thousands of people in Arizona and across the nation. While millions of people rely on Amazon to quickly order the items that they want, the company has had problems with worker safety. According to a recent article, the company reportedly took steps to hide injuries that happened in its warehouses and distribution centers.
An investigation that was conducted by Reveal from the Center for Investigative Reporting and The Atlantic alleges that Amazon failed to comply with safety regulations and underreported worker injuries for years leading up to 2015. The investigators reported that Amazon attempted to limit its employee’s access to injury logs and took steps to prevent them from sharing the injury logs that they were able to receive.
The investigators also found that Amazon failed to report many of the injuries that occurred and tried to blame workers for their injuries. In one case, an OSHA investigator was reportedly told by the Indiana Labor Commissioner to refrain from investigating a death any further or to resign because the state wanted to compete for Amazon’s second headquarters. The OSHA investigator quit, and when the report was ultimately released, the worker was blamed for his death.
People who are injured at work may file claims with their employers’ workers’ compensation insurance carriers. Workers’ compensation benefits may be available to pay for the medical care and related costs of workers who are injured while they are on the job. If the workers are left with temporary or permanent disabilities, they may be entitled to receive ongoing disability payments from workers’ compensation. People who suffer serious injuries at their jobs might want to talk to experienced workers’ compensation attorneys. The lawyers may advocate for their clients to help them secure all the benefits to which they should be entitled.
