Workplace Accident Led to Mistreatment For Amazon Worker

Amazon’s brand is ubiquitous. You can have any item delivered to your house in one day. However, all this convenience can come at a high cost for their employees. 

When we buy products on Amazon, the workers in the company’s 140 distribution centers across the U.S. fill that order while working in harsh conditions, with the threat of dismissal constantly over their heads.  

Hurt On The Job, Denied Workers' Compensation Benefits

According to Amazon worker Vickie Shannon Allen, “managers would ask you questions all the time about any bathroom breaks, performance and productivity. What they do is code your time, and they are allowed to change it at will. To me, that’s how they get rid of people.”  

Amazon CEO Jeff Bezos is worth $150 billion. Yet, one investigation found some of his employees have been left homeless after debilitating workplace accidents in his company’s distribution centers. Ms. Allen is one such employee. One year ago, she was injured as a result of an accident caused by missing safety equipment. After reporting the accident, her pain was minimized by the distribution center’s management and, not long after, Allen was sent home without pay.  

Each day after that, Vickie Allen drove 60 miles to the distribution center just to be turned away without pay, despite her willingness to work through the pain. “I tried to work again,” Allen said, “but I couldn’t stretch my right arm out and I’m right-handed. So I was having a hard time keeping up.”  

Eventually, her workers’ compensation claim was approved and she began physical therapy. In January 2018, she returned to work, only to be injured again at the same workstation. The missing piece of safety equipment hadn’t been replaced.  

Allen had an MRI in April that showed her back was still injured. But she claims that five days after her diagnosis, Amazon’s workers’ compensation insurer had the company doctor drop her as a patient. On July 2nd, Amazon offered her a $3,500 buyout. But she would be required to sign a non-disclosure agreement that prevented her from saying “anything derogatory about Amazon or my experience.”  

Allen rejected the offer. She said she lost her home and began living in her car. It’s a situation that could happen to any injured worker at any workplace. 

The Pennsylvania workplace accident attorneys at Vellner Law know that when workers are mistreated, the company must be held accountable. It’s easy for large companies to treat workers unfairly. That’s why you need an experienced workers’ compensation attorney on your side. 

If you or a loved one was injured in a workplace accident, contact Vellner Law today. No case is too small. No company is too big. Call today for a free case evaluation.