When Trying to “Make it Work” Ends in Disaster
Shipping and receiving departments are the beating heart of large grocery and retail chains. To keep operations moving, employees rely on motorized equipment like electric pallet jacks. But what happens when the tools they are given—like the wooden pallets themselves—are broken and overloaded?
When workers are trained to physically force heavy machinery out of a jam instead of receiving assistance, the physical toll can be catastrophic.
This became a painful reality for a 29-year-old shipping and receiving employee working at a culinary center in Houston, Texas. A single broken piece of wood triggered a horrific chain of events that ended her career and led to hundreds of thousands of dollars in spinal surgeries.
Her story serves as an important reminder for workers throughout Texas that employers have a responsibility to maintain safe workplaces and that seemingly minor safety violations can lead to devastating consequences."
A Sudden Jerk and a Devastating Fall
On September 14, 2022, the 29-year-old employee was performing her standard duties. She was operating a heavy electric pallet jack when it suddenly became stuck underneath a broken pallet.
Because the employer allegedly overloaded their pallets and failed to provide intact equipment, the machine was completely jammed. Doing exactly as she had been trained, the young worker attempted to back the electric pallet jack out using her own physical force.
Suddenly, the heavy machinery jerked backward with immense power. The unexpected force sent the young woman flying through the air, causing her to land violently on her lower back.
Her condition was later severely aggravated when, upon returning to work, she was forced to move 55-pound boxes of spices from floor level onto another pallet.
Multiple Spinal Surgeries and a Lifetime of Agony
Landing forcefully on a hard warehouse floor after being thrown by an electric pallet jack causes massive trauma to the spinal column.
Extensive MRIs revealed a devastating list of injuries:
- Severe Lumbar Trauma: She suffered retrolisthesis of the L5 on S1 vertebrae.
- Herniations and Tears: A 4mm broad-based disc herniation with an acute annular tear caused severe left lateral recess and foraminal narrowing.
- Additional Protrusions: Subsequent imaging showed further disc protrusions at the T12-L1, L3-L4, and L4-L5 levels.
The medical journey for this young woman has been agonizing. Conservative treatment failed, forcing her to undergo a lumbar discectomy with interbody spacer placement just months after the accident. When the pain persisted, she was forced to undergo a second major surgery: a highly invasive lumbar laminectomy and spinal fusion.
Today, she continues to suffer from severe pain and limitations, having accumulated an astonishing $774,525 in medical bills.
Could This Life-Altering Injury Have Been Prevented?
This young woman’s career and health were destroyed because of a preventable hazard. According to the allegations in this case, the employer failed to provide a reasonably safe workplace through several critical oversights:
- Providing Broken Equipment: The employer allegedly failed to provide safe equipment, allowing broken and overloaded pallets to be used in daily operations.
- Dangerous Training Protocols: The company allegedly trained employees to use their own physical force to dislodge heavy electric pallet jacks rather than calling for mechanical assistance.
- Failure to Provide Assistance: Management allegedly failed to provide the necessary assistance to safely free the jammed equipment and manually move the 55-pound boxes.
Crucial Takeaways for Shipping and Receiving Workers
This worker’s tragic story offers an essential warning for anyone operating electric pallet jacks or forklifts in Texas:
- Never use your body to force a jammed machine. If an electric pallet jack gets stuck under a broken pallet, stop. Do not use your own physical force to pull it out.
- Report broken pallets immediately. Overloaded and splintered pallets are severe safety hazards. Refuse to move them until they are properly secured.
- Hold negligent employers accountable. If your company’s broken equipment and poor training lead to spinal fusion surgeries, they can be held financially responsible for your massive medical bills and lost wages.
Injured at Work?
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Non-Subscriber claims in Houston, Dallas, Austin, Corpus Christi, San Antonio and The Rio Grande Valley.
How Sandoval Law Firm Helps Injured Warehouse Workers
At Sandoval Law Firm, we represent injured workers throughout Houston, The Woodlands, Katy, Sugar Land, Spring, and communities across Texas who have suffered serious workplace injuries caused by unsafe working conditions.
Whether your injury occurred at a:
- Shipping and receiving dock
- Culinary center or food processing plant
- Retail grocery warehouse or distribution center
- Manufacturing or industrial facility
Our experienced legal team is here to help you understand your rights and determine whether you may have a claim against your employer, especially if they are a Texas non-subscriber to workers’ compensation.
No young employee should face a lifetime of pain, multiple spinal fusions, and nearly a million dollars in medical debt because a company provided a broken pallet. If you were injured on the job and believe unsafe equipment, lack of assistance, or poor training contributed to your accident, contact Sandoval Law Firm today for a free consultation. We will review your case, explain your legal options, and fight to help you recover the compensation you deserve.
