Each year, hundreds of millions of people travel to and from the United States through air travel. For the full year 2022, U.S. airlines carried 853 million passengers, up from 658 million in 2021 and 388 million in 2020. According to a recent report by USA Today, commercial airlines in America handle more than 41 million checked bags every month. Airline baggage handlers have some of the most physically demanding jobs in the airline industry. They spend most of their day lifting, transferring, and moving all this luggage, in conditions ranging from frigid cold to sweltering heat. Loading and unloading cargo on a busy airport tarmac poses unique risks of injury.

According to a recent study by the Flight Safety Foundation, a staggering 85% of back injuries to baggage handlers occur during the loading and unloading of narrow body aircraft. The cramped design of some baggage compartments results in significant limitations on the range of motion a baggage handler can use to push, pull, and stack baggage. Because of this, airline baggage handlers may suffer injuries that cause chronic pain and limitations of movement that can prevent them from working while they are recovering.

Here are some of the most common causes of accidents and injuries including:

– Back injuries
– Overexertion
– Overextension
– Shoulder injuries
– Slip and fall accidents
– Weather-related injuries
– Getting caught in machinery
– Hearing damage from planes

Airline baggage handlers face job hazards daily, many of which can lead to work-related injuries. If you sustain an injury while working as an airline baggage handler, you have a right to receive full compensation for their injuries. Since 1962, the attorneys at Krol, Bongiorno, and Given Ltd. have handled well over 30,000 claims for injured workers throughout the state of Illinois. For immediate help with a work injury case, call (312) 726-5567 for a free consultation or contact us online.

Krol, Bongiorno & Given provides legal services to residents in the Chicago metropolitan area, including Cook County, DeKalb County, DuPage County, Grundy County, Kankakee County, Kane County, Kendall County, McHenry County, and Will County.