Injured while working at a Ready PAC facility in NJ? If so, you may be entitled to benefits and financial compensation per NJ workers’ comp laws. Our New Jersey Ready Pac Produce workers’ compensation lawyers can help employees injured while working at the Ready Pac/Bonduelle facility in Florence, New Jersey understand their rights to medical treatment, temporary disability benefits, permanent disability compensation, and other benefits available through the New Jersey workers’ compensation system. The Ready Pac Foods name has long been associated with fresh-cut produce, packaged salads, vegetables, and ready-to-eat food products, and Ready Pac became part of Bonduelle in 2017. The company’s Florence location has also undergone operational changes over the years, including a transition from processing operations toward distribution activities. For workers, however, warehouse and distribution work can present its own substantial occupational hazards. Employees may load and unload products, move pallets, operate forklifts and pallet jacks, work around tractor-trailers, handle boxes and other materials, perform repetitive lifting and bending, work in refrigerated or temperature-controlled environments, and spend extended shifts walking or standing on industrial floors. A single workplace accident can cause a herniated disc, torn rotator cuff, knee injury, fracture, concussion, crush injury, or other serious medical condition. Other employees may develop occupational injuries gradually after months or years of repetitive physical work. Under New Jersey law, an employee generally does not have to prove that an employer was negligent to pursue workers’ compensation benefits for a qualifying job-related injury or occupational condition. If you were injured while working at Ready Pac Produce, Bonduelle Fresh Americas, or a related Florence distribution operation, Flynn Law can evaluate the circumstances of your injury, explain the benefits that may be available, and determine whether additional claims against negligent third parties should also be investigated. Contact Flynn Law to discuss a Ready Pac Produce workplace injury in Florence, Burlington County, or elsewhere in New Jersey.

Ready Pac Produce and Bonduelle Fresh Americas in Florence, New Jersey

Ready Pac Foods became part of Bonduelle in 2017. The Ready Pac brand has been associated with fresh-cut vegetables, salads, fruits, snacks, and prepared meal solutions distributed to retailers and food-service customers throughout the United States.

The Florence facility at 700 Railroad Avenue has historically been associated with Ready Pac Foods and Bonduelle Fresh Americas. Operations at a large food distribution facility can involve warehouse employees, forklift operators, material handlers, shipping and receiving personnel, sanitation and maintenance workers, supervisors, truck drivers, contractors, and other workers.

Even as the specific functions performed at an industrial facility change, employees involved in distribution and logistics can continue to encounter significant workplace hazards.

Warehouse and Distribution Center Injuries

Distribution centers combine people, machinery, vehicles, inventory, loading equipment, and constant movement within relatively confined industrial environments.

Potential accidents include workers being struck by forklifts, falling from loading docks, slipping on wet floors, being hit by falling merchandise, becoming caught between equipment and stationary objects, or suffering injuries while manually moving heavy materials.

Warehouse employees may also suffer injuries while pushing or pulling loaded pallet jacks or maneuvering products through storage and loading areas.

Some injuries are immediately apparent. Others initially seem manageable but become substantially worse over the following hours or days.

Workers should report job-related accidents promptly and obtain appropriate medical evaluation when injured.

Forklift and Pallet Jack Accidents

Forklifts are indispensable in warehouse and distribution operations, but accidents involving powered industrial equipment can cause catastrophic injuries.

Workers can be struck or run over by forklifts, pinned against racks or walls, injured by falling loads, or hurt when equipment tips or suddenly changes direction.

Pallet jacks can also cause foot, ankle, leg, back, and shoulder injuries. Employees pulling or pushing heavy loads may experience acute injuries or develop cumulative musculoskeletal conditions.

A worker does not necessarily have to be operating the equipment to suffer a compensable injury. Pedestrians working around forklifts and material-handling equipment can also be seriously injured.

Loading Dock Accidents at Ready Pac Produce

Loading docks are another significant source of workplace injuries.

Trailers constantly arrive and depart from busy distribution facilities. Employees may enter trailers, operate dock plates, move pallets, secure cargo, inspect shipments, or work near elevated dock edges.

Potential loading-dock accidents include:

These accidents can produce severe orthopedic, neurological, and traumatic injuries.

Back, Neck, and Shoulder Injuries

Warehouse and distribution employees frequently perform physically demanding work.

Repeated lifting, bending, twisting, reaching, carrying, pushing, and pulling can place substantial stress on the spine and upper extremities.

A Ready Pac employee could suffer a herniated disc while lifting a box, tear a rotator cuff while handling a heavy load, or develop chronic spinal problems after performing repetitive work over an extended period.

Common conditions may include herniated discs, bulging discs, lumbar and cervical radiculopathy, rotator cuff tears, shoulder impingement, muscle strains, tendon injuries, and nerve damage.

When these conditions arise from employment, workers’ compensation benefits may potentially be available.

Repetitive Stress and Occupational Injuries

New Jersey workers’ compensation is not limited to injuries caused by one identifiable accident.

Some Ready Pac and Bonduelle employees may develop medical conditions gradually because of the repetitive nature of their jobs.

Repeated lifting can contribute to back and shoulder conditions. Repetitive hand movements may contribute to carpal tunnel syndrome. Long periods of standing and walking can aggravate lower-extremity conditions. Repeated bending, squatting, and climbing can affect the knees.

Insurance carriers sometimes dispute occupational claims by arguing that a worker’s condition is degenerative, age-related, or unrelated to employment.

Medical evidence establishing the relationship between occupational duties and the diagnosed condition can therefore become particularly important.

Cold and Refrigerated Workplace Injuries

Fresh-food distribution frequently requires temperature-controlled environments.

Working for prolonged periods in cold environments may create additional occupational challenges, particularly for employees who are simultaneously performing strenuous physical tasks.

Workers can also encounter condensation or wet surfaces associated with refrigeration and temperature changes. Those conditions can contribute to slip-and-fall accidents.

An employee who falls on a wet warehouse floor while performing job duties may have a workers’ compensation claim even if no one can establish precisely who caused the wet condition.

Workers’ compensation is fundamentally different from a premises liability lawsuit because an injured employee generally does not need to prove negligence by the employer to obtain qualifying benefits.

Truck and Trailer Accidents

A distribution hub necessarily involves commercial transportation.

Employees may work around tractor-trailers entering and leaving the facility, assist with loading and unloading, or drive vehicles as part of their employment.

Workers injured in motor vehicle accidents while performing job duties may potentially qualify for workers’ compensation benefits.

Some transportation accidents can also create third-party personal injury claims.

For example, if a Ready Pac or Bonduelle employee is injured because a driver employed by an independent trucking company negligently causes an accident, the injured worker may potentially pursue workers’ compensation benefits while also investigating a separate claim against the negligent driver and trucking company.

Third-Party Claims After a Ready Pac Workplace Accident

One of the most important questions after a serious industrial accident is whether someone other than the injured worker’s employer contributed to the accident.

Workers’ compensation generally restricts an employee’s ability to sue an employer for ordinary workplace negligence. That does not necessarily protect unrelated third parties whose negligence causes an employee’s injuries.

Potential third parties can include trucking companies, outside contractors, equipment manufacturers, property owners, maintenance companies, vendors, and other businesses operating at or around a facility.

A forklift defect, dangerous piece of machinery, negligent commercial driver, or hazardous condition created by an outside contractor could potentially support a separate third-party claim.

These claims are important because a personal injury action can potentially provide categories of damages that are not ordinarily available through workers’ compensation.

Workers’ Compensation Benefits After a Ready Pac Injury

An employee with a qualifying New Jersey workers’ compensation claim may potentially receive authorized medical treatment required to address the work injury.

When an injury prevents an employee from working for a qualifying period, temporary disability benefits may also be available. Employees left with permanent impairment may potentially qualify for permanent partial or permanent total disability benefits depending upon the severity and circumstances of the condition.

Fatal workplace accidents may give rise to workers’ compensation death benefits for qualifying dependents.

The appropriate benefits depend upon the individual employee’s injury, medical condition, ability to work, treatment needs, and long-term prognosis.

Ready Pac Produce Workers’ Compensation Claims in Burlington County

Florence is located in Burlington County, placing Ready Pac and Bonduelle employees within an important South Jersey industrial and distribution corridor.

Workers may commute to Florence from communities throughout Burlington County and neighboring portions of Camden, Mercer, Gloucester, and other New Jersey counties.

Flynn Law represents injured employees throughout New Jersey in claims involving warehouse accidents, distribution center injuries, trucking accidents, forklift accidents, repetitive stress conditions, occupational illnesses, construction injuries, manufacturing accidents, and other workplace injuries.

Contact Flynn Law After a Ready Pac Produce Workplace Injury

A serious warehouse or distribution injury can affect far more than an employee’s next paycheck. Back injuries, shoulder tears, knee damage, fractures, nerve injuries, and other conditions can prevent someone from returning to physically demanding employment and may create long-term medical and financial consequences.

Workers should not assume that an injury is too minor to report or that a gradually developing condition cannot qualify for workers’ compensation.

Flynn Law can investigate a Ready Pac Produce or Bonduelle Fresh Americas workplace injury, evaluate eligibility for New Jersey workers’ compensation benefits, address disputes concerning medical treatment or disability, and determine whether the accident also supports a claim against a negligent third party.

If you were injured while working at the Ready Pac Produce/Bonduelle facility in Florence, New Jersey, or at another warehouse, distribution center, food-processing operation, or industrial facility in Burlington County, contact Flynn Law to discuss your workers’ compensation claim and the benefits that may be available.