Would UPS have been liable?

[laffter]

A curiosity ran through my head recently. This is nothing recent, but an event from last year.

I was double shifting, unloading an Amazon trailer during the twilight shift. I was picking up boxes off the floor when the next layer (wall) came falling down onto my head, knocking off my glasses and breaking the frame. I was already a year into my employment at that point, so I had insurance. As I was already way past due for a new prescription, this wasn't a big issue, and I got it taken care of a few days later.

If I did not have insurance, or I had just already gotten the new glasses, would UPS have been liable for the incident? Would there have been a way to get them to pay for new glasses?

 

[cachsux]

No. They would recite the 11 keys of you not paying attention,etc.

 

[laffter]

While I do understand the need to "pay attention", it wasn't until later that I realized it is safer to forcefully collapse poorly constructed walls than to constantly dodge falling packages. These "walls" I speak of should really be referred to as mounds. I feel like Amazon facilities have "happy hour" during their breaks.

 

[ChickenLegs]

A wall came falling onto your head! You should have stopped what you were doing and report the incident and demand a copy. Who knows, maybe you could've gotten a blood clot in addition to the glasses.

It seems you are partially at fault because you should've been aware of unsafe walls and you may have (inadvertenly) caused the wall to breach. The company would rather spend $6000 in court costs to not pay your $100.

 

[sortaisle]

Top down bottom out. Even with sketchy walls, you can grab your load stand and nab the sketchier packages on the tier behind it. Or you can do a controlled collapse, but that's not exactly the right thing to do...but I think we're all guilty of it at one time or another.

 

[Jackburton]

Stop wearing perscription glasses while working, our preload did.

 

[overallowed]

Safe work method #5: be aware of changing conditions. Seriously.

 

[Brownslave688]

Stop wearing perscription glasses while working, our preload did.

Lol bak when I was a sorter before all the new technology. We had an older sorter that could pass the sort test just fine but with the speed it all moved in the sort isle and his poor eye sight he was always sending stuff to the wrong belt. Drove management crazy.

 

[UPSGUY72]

A curiosity ran through my head recently. This is nothing recent, but an event from last year.

I was double shifting, unloading an Amazon trailer during the twilight shift. I was picking up boxes off the floor when the next layer (wall) came falling down onto my head, knocking off my glasses and breaking the frame. I was already a year into my employment at that point, so I had insurance. As I was already way past due for a new prescription, this wasn't a big issue, and I got it taken care of a few days later.

If I did not have insurance, or I had just already gotten the new glasses, would UPS have been liable for the incident? Would there have been a way to get them to pay for new glasses?

No, this why people who where glasses and work in a other that office environment have a pair of work / safety glasses and regular glasses.

 

[gammonjw]

Happy hour? Is that why roughly 93.7% of the labels on Amazon boxes are applied in a way so they cannot be scanned by UPS service providers? Good grief!

 

[cynic]

John Mellencamp - Crumblin' Down - YouTube

ChickenLegs called it - any corporation would rather spend $6,000 than pay an employee $100. If they pay one, then there's going to be a line out the door submitting claims the next day. Seriously, they have offices full of attorneys to defend claims against safety, patents, injury on duty and you'd have to find an attorney for $400/hour that you'd pay out of pocket to get your $100 back. Now add the office full of Amazon attorneys (since it was their trailer) to the office full of UPS attorneys and your legal fees would go into 5 figures.

Since I too work in the "Jenga" department unloading trailers every morning, I know exactly what you're talking about with waiting for the walls to come crumbling and tumbling down. Some trailers we can't even open because the loads have fallen against the door and they have to pull them off the door, gun it, slam on the brakes, and slowly back it in and we try again. Even the poor load retainers can't take it!!

I completely agree with you on the principle of the matter. It sucks, but the odds and financial figures are not in your favor.

 

[FilingBluesFL]

You totally beat me to the John Mellancamp

I had a wall of hermit crabs fall on me one time. No seriously, I did.