Winter in our part of the country is predicted to be “cold and stormy,” according to the Farmers’ Almanac. With its famous forecasts dating back to 1818, the Almanac is a traditional prognosticator of weather conditions that many still revere for accurate predictions.
This year, the Farmers’ Almanac warnings for Illinois and Indiana thankfully do not include historic blizzard conditions. Nevertheless, its 2024 winter weather warning for Zone 2 (covering Illinois, Indiana, Kentucky, Michigan, Ohio, and Wisconsin) urges everyone to be ready for severe winter hazards.
The Farmers’ Almanac foretells our 2024 winter to have “…. below-average temperatures and lots of snowstorms, sleet, ice, rain for much of the Great Lakes, Ohio Valley, and Midwest areas of the country, ….”
How Winter Weather Conditions Can Hurt or Kill Workers On the Job
For safety agencies and those advocating for worker victims who have been seriously hurt or killed on the job, weather forecasts come with special concerns for those employed on industrial worksites where winter conditions bring an increased risk of a severe work accident injury.
As the Occupational Health and Safety Administration (OSHA) explains, the winter months are particularly risky for anyone who is asked to work outdoors at any time. Accordingly, winter weather brings its own dangers for those employed in a number of industrial operations here in Illinois and Indiana.
For more, read, “Hypothermia and Nine More Winter Workplace Hazards,” written by and published in OHS Online on October 1, 2022.
Cold Stress Injuries: Risk of Death from Hypothermia or Frostbite
Perhaps the most common type of bodily injury suffered by a worker tasked with doing a job in the extreme cold involves “cold stress injuries.”
These cold stress injuries can be suffered by workers even when the temperatures are far from freezing: both hypothermia and frostbite can happen even when someone is on the job in 40 degrees Fahrenheit. Wind chill (the contribution of wind speed to cold experience by the body) must be considered for any employee asked to perform their duties during winter weather.
Cold stress injuries include:
- Chilblains (permanent harm to the skin; blistering; pain);
- Frostbite;
- Hypothermia; and
- Trench Foot (gangrene at its worst).
While chilblains and trench foot may cause serious harm and force their victim to experience painful injuries that will result in debilitating harm or even amputation, they are not usually life-threatening. Frostbite and hypothermia, however, can kill.
Frostbite involves the actual freezing of the worker’s body tissues. Frostbite injuries can result in the amputation of limbs or fatal injury.
Hypothermia occurs when the worker’s body is unable to deal with cold externalities and the internal body temperature falls to 95°F or less. Workers experiencing hypothermia can die in a shocking work accident where symptoms such as shivering or slowed breathing go unnoticed until the worker passes out from the impact of the cold.
For more, read Cold Stress – Cold Related Illnesses published by the Center for Disease Control and Prevention’s National Institute for Occupational Safety and Health (NIOSH).
Serious Bodily Harm in Fall Accidents or Motor Vehicle Crashes
Another deadly risk facing workers in winter weather conditions are bodily injuries that happen when they slip or trip on the worksite and suffer a catastrophic or deadly fall or they are involved in a winter motor vehicle accident.
Falls are a recognized risk for any worker that is tasked with doing a job where there are slippery walkways or stairs, or where hazards like gaps or curbs are hidden by accumulated snow or blowing snow conditions. Impaired visibility during winter storms is a recognized fall hazard for any worker on the job outdoors.
Read, “Winter Slips, Trips and Falls: Avoiding Injury and Incidents in the Workplace,” written by David Perecman and published by OHS Online on January 27, 2021.
And of course, winter weather conditions on our roadways increase the risk of a deadly motor vehicle accident involving workers employed to drive various industrial vehicles during winter conditions.
Read, “Motor Vehicle Safety At Work,” published by NIOSH where the agency warns us that “motor vehicle crashes are the leading cause of work-related deaths in the United States.”
Industrial Protections Against Winter Weather Work Accidents and Injuries
Here in Illinois and Indiana, the specific protections that employers and others in possession, custody, or control of aspects of the workplace are legally bound to provide workers will depend upon that particular operation. Those driving semi-trucks in our transportation industry, for instance, will have different safety concerns than a worker in one of our manufacturing plants.
Manufacturing Winter Weather Dangers
Manufacturing facilities in Illinois and Indiana involve complicated industrial processes where workers may or may not be facing significant exposure to cold weather conditions. Nevertheless, any time an employee in a manufacturing plant is asked to work in the cold, they need protection from the known hazards they will face. These include things like providing heaters or heat sources and the necessary personal protective equipment to keep them safe from harm.
Additionally, employees should be kept safe from falls on outside walkways including company parking lots, and from slippery surfaces caused from dripping boots, coats, etc.
For more, read “Winter Hazards in Manufacturing,” written by Scott McNeill and published by OSH Online on October 1, 2014.
Trucking Winter Weather Risks of Harm
For any worker employed to drive a heavy motor vehicle as part of their job, winter weather conditions bring an increased risk of injury. This is true for those driving industrial trucks on large construction sites, of course. However, the greatest risk of winter weather accidents is arguably faced each day here in our “Crossroads of America” by the commercial truck driver who is behind the wheel of a semi-truck, big rig, 18-wheeler, or tractor-trailer truck in snow or ice.
Truck drivers facing poor driving conditions due to sleet, freezing rain, freezing fog, snow, or ice, must demonstrate their professional skills in moving their heavy rigs on roadways where visibility is limited and skids are a constant concern. Truckers also need to have the support of their supervisors and shippers when the winter weather is so severe that the best decision to be made is to “stop work” and wait out the bad conditions.
Those with legal duties of care for our commercial truck drivers should take all reasonable and prudent steps to help them in these hazardous conditions. Trucks should be inspected for being in proper working order (e.g., taillights working and brakes okay) before the trucker takes the wheel. Supplies like kitty litter to deal with ice patches and hammers to help with frozen air tanks should be provided. Personal protective equipment to keep truckers warm on the road is a must (insulated boots; gloves; hat). Truck cabs should also be stocked for winter emergencies with things like propane heaters; charger and cell phone; adequate water and food supply).
For more, read Winter Weather: Hazards by OSHA; Winter Accidents with Semi-Trucks: Driving Dangers in Indiana and Illinois; and Winter Weather Fatal Truck Crashes on Indiana and Illinois Roads.
Winter Weather Dangers for Workers in Warehousing and Logistics
The warehousing and logistics industry is one of the fastest growing segments of our economies here in Illinois and Indiana. More and more warehouses and distribution centers operated by Amazon and others are employing more and more people in our communities. Read, Warehouse Accidents: Workers in One of the Deadliest Jobs in Indiana and Illinois.
The dangers facing warehousing workers during our cold winter months can cause serious or deadly work accident injuries. Working in cold conditions during loading or unloading procedures can expose workers to cold stress injuries if left unprotected. Warehouse workers are also at a significant risk of falling on the job and getting hurt on winter-related slippery surfaces.
Everyone on the job in our warehousing and logistics industry that will be required to work in cold weather should be given protective personal equipment (PPE) to keep them safe. This includes gloves, hats, and boots that are water-resistant and insulated for warmth. Warehouse walkways and aisles are always at risk of struck-by injury accidents, but their risks increase if there is a risk of snow, ice, or sleet reaching these surfaces and making them slippery.
Amazon, for instance, has drafted its own winter safety policy which is available for workers to read online. Amazon protects drivers and warehouse employees “…as temperatures drop and snowflakes start to fall …” with things like specific winter weather safety training for drivers and “real-time” communication with drivers through texting and app notifications. Amazon also identified its winter “equipment and gear” to include “…gloves, caps, outerwear, hand warmers, and ice cleats.”
For more, read “Keep Warehouse Workers Safe This Holiday Season,” written by Doug Parker and published by U.S. Department of Labor Blog on December 6, 2023.
Winter Weather Work Accidents in Illinois or Indiana
Of course, everyone living and working here in Illinois and Indiana is well-aware of the winter weather risks we all face each year. We are ready for the snow, the ice, and the periodic weathercaster’s excited forecasts of an impending blizzard. We are simply used to dealing with winter weather conditions as part of our daily lives.
Nevertheless, no employer (or any other company or individual with custody, control, or possession of aspects of any workplace) should be complacent about cold weather and the dangers it brings. There are legal duties of care and safety owed to every worker who is on the job in cold winter weather which must be respected.
Workers in Indiana and Illinois must know about these legal duties of winter safety owed to them on the job, established to keep them safe from harm during extreme cold. For anyone who does suffer a severe injury due to winter weather, from a fall to a motor vehicle accident, there are state and federal laws that provide avenues for justice if an investigation into the incident reveals a breach in these legal duties of safety and care. Damages may be available not only through workers’ compensation benefits, but also third-party civil claims based upon product liability, premises liability, or negligence law.
For more, read:
- Winter Weather Accidents Caused by Negligent Fleet Management
- Winter Weather Accident Deaths: Duty of Care during Winter Weather Conditions
- Winter Weather Increases Danger of Workplace Accidents
- Dangerous Winter Work Injuries: Severe Injuries or Death While on the Job in Cold Weather.
Forecasts for the Winter of 2024 warn of cold and stormy weather for both Illinois and Indiana. Working in winter weather conditions is dangerous and workers deserve protection from these risks. Sadly, there may be employers here who choose profits over people, putting workers at risk of catastrophic harm or death on the job. Please be careful out there!
