Injuries and the Use of Hand Trucks

  • Dan T. Matrafajlo
  • Fri Feb 2012
  • Workers Compensation,
  • 0

Workers Compensation LawyerIt is a known fact that people who are required to transport beverages or other items from a delivery truck to a hand truck or stack are at an increased risk of injury. Accordingly, under OSHA standards, these types of tasks should be deemed hazardous unless certain solutions are put in place. If you believe that you have suffered an injury due to your use of a hand truck, you may want to consider contacting a well-read New Jersey workers’ compensation lawyer to assist you with your potential case.

When dealing with certain types of deliveries, you should make every effort to minimize the amount of torso bend that you have to endure. For instance, when handling large quantity loads, ask your employer to give you a four-wheeled platform-style cart or a two-wheeled hand truck that can change over to a four-wheel platform-style truck. Also, you should inquire about changing the present hand truck or ask if you can be given a new one that has the ability to adjust the height of the load platform or toe plate. If your employer doesn’t make these changes and you are injured, a New Jersey workers’ compensation attorney may be able to help you get benefits.

Additionally, when pushing items up an incline, you may want to consider asking your employer for a fold-down third wheel that can be placed on the back of the hand truck so that the load can be self supporting (as opposed to you having to bear the brunt of the weight). Utilizing the third wheel will ensure that you will only have to provide force in a horizontal direction.

You should note that poorly maintained hand trucks will significantly increase one’s physical stress. That said, you may want to suggest to your employer that you and the other employees be given the option to use a hand truck with hard wheels or balloon tires, either of which may be more beneficial, depending on the type of terrain you have to transport items over.

If you need a skilled New Jersey workers’ compensation lawyer, please call Dan Matrafajlo at (908) 248-4404 for a free consultation.

Dan T. Matrafajlo

Dan T. Matrafajlo

NJ State Bar #: 031722003

Dan T. Matrafajlo, Esq., is the managing member and lead partner at Beninato and Matrafajlo, Attorneys at Law, LLC. Renowned for groundbreaking contributions to personal injury law, he has set legal precedents with influential Appellate decisions and garnered recognition in the New Jersey Law Journal. A consistent honoree on Super Lawyers' Rising Star list for the past five years, Matrafajlo's litigation prowess is widely acknowledged. He has won various awards like Super Lawyers, Thomson Reuters Association 2019, and Nominated into Super Lawyers as a Rising Star from 2012 until the Present.

  • logos