Hazardous Employment:
One of our nations leading newspapers recently ran a featured article documenting airport baggage screeners and the extraordinarily high rate of injuries that they suffer in the course of their work. Approximately one out of every four workers reports an injury and one out of 8 workers has an injury that requires lost time. This makes bag screening and bag handling some of the nation's most hazardous jobs.
Atlanta Hartsfield Jackson Airport
Injured workers at Atlanta’s popular Hartsfield Jackson Airport, more than two-thirds of whom are screeners, missed nearly a quarter-million days of work last year. The lost job time has contributed to a staffing shortage that has strained checkpoint security and lengthened lines.TSA employees injured on the job missed work at five times the rate of the rest of the federal workforce. They were injured four times as often as construction-industry workers and seven times as often as miners.
INJURIES INCLUDE:
- Sprains resulting from lifting and carrying heavy bags
- Amputations and Paralysis
- Brain injury
- Head injuries
- Lacerations and scarring
- Shoulder and arm injury
- Whiplash and tissue injury
- Broken bones and fractures
- Eye injuries
- Neck injury or back injury
- Hand and wrist injury
- Concussion
- Fractures
- Burns
OSHA has issued numerous citations
Since most of the screening machines and checkpoints were added after 9/11 and squeezed in wherever they would fit, few screening stations were designed with an eye to ergonomics. OSHA has issued numerous hazard citations to airports across the country.
Attrition rate 22%
Adding to these problems, the TSA staffed up quickly and in most instances, strength tests were not part of the application process, and training - at least from a safety standpoint - was minimal. In a snowballing problem, the more staff injuries and absences there are, the more overworked remaining employees are. According to the article, the staff attrition rate last year was 22%.
Security is not being compromised
This is distressing both for the workers involved and also for airline travelers. Although authorities say that security is not being compromised, it is hard to see how injured, overworked, and poorly trained workers can deliver the best results.
Specific corrective actions taken at the airports included:
- pre-shift stretching exercise programs
- safe-lifting classes
- spot checks to reinforce best practices
- targeted safety training plans
- recognition programs to encourage and reward safe employee performance
- safety newsletters
- emergency evacuation plans and reviews
- posted safety tips
When you need a personal injury lawyer who will aggressively pursue the maximum compensation to which you are entitled, call The Keener Law Firm at 770-955-3000 to arrange a no cost, no obligation consultation and assessment of your case. We are available for home and hospital visits. Contact us about your personal injury matter.
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forms from single car accidents to freeway pileups. Whether an accident is a head-on collision, a rollover, a rear-end collision or an intersection crash, millions of dollars in personal injuries and property damage results.
