Hand Pallet Injury Accident Lawyer

What Is a Hand Pallet, and Where Is It Used?

Hand pallet jacks are the small hand-held forklifts used by workers in a warehouse or a big box retail store, to put inventory and merchandise from the back room to the shelves for the customers. A “hand pallet” is the same as a regular pallet jack. It is called a hand pallet sometimes, because you do pull it with your hand. But the other ones are also pulled by hand too.

Are All Hand Pallets Manual?

There are manual and electric pallet jacks. The manual pallet jack is hand operated and use hydraulic springs to life the pallets up to 6 inches off the ground to move products around. The load capacity of the manual pallet jack is around 1,000 to 5,500 pounds. The electric pallet jack is a battery-powered pallet truck that can be used to walk with or have an end rider model. They usually can only handle around 4,500 pounds as a maximum load, and still also go up to 6 inches off the ground.

Why Are Hand Pallet Jacks So Dangerous?

When picking up merchandise with a pallet jack, the merchandise will be stored on a wooden pallet. That is a storage section that is on a pallet with slats, and the merchandise is usually tapped around that pallet. The prongs of the pallet jack go under the pallet, push it off the ground a few inches, and allow it to be moved to where the product needs to go.

Properly Using a Hand Pallet Jack Reduces Injuries

When the pallet is in the proper place, it is lowered to the ground again. For example, a truck comes to a warehouse, and it will get unloaded using a pallet jack. Then the pallet jack will be used again to take the merchandise to the stock room. It will be used one more time to take the products out to the floor of the business where products are sold to the customers. Then the pallet jack will be taken back to the back room again to wait to start the whole process over again.

The fork length of the pallet is usually around 48 inches. If there are 12 inches in a foot, then 48 inches is exactly 4 feet long. The width of the pallet is around 25 inches, which is around two feet wide. Manual pallet jacks do not have brakes! For this reason, many accidents happen with manual pallet jacks. Electric pallets have disc brakes to help stop the pallet when it is veering off course.

Types of Hand Pallet Jack Injuries

The following injuries are commonly sustained by a hand pallet operator recklessly operating the pallet jack. These injuries include:

• pinned against a vehicle when struck by a pallet jack
• fractures a foot when caught between the wall and a rack on the wall
• fractures leg when pinned between forklift and the wall
• injures ankle when struck by pallet jack and thrown into a wall
• crushes thumb when caught between load and pallet jack
• suffers broken pelvis and back after pallet jack tips over
• amputates finger when caught between rack and pallet jack on the wall
• knocked off loading dock by pallet jack and fractures hip
• falls between dock plate and trailer, injuring leg, arm and hip
• breaks tibia and fibula in fall from motorized pallet jack
• fractures ankle when pinned between pallet and a wall
• fractures and lacerates ankle when caught between pallet jack and wall
• fractures leg and bruises ankle when caught between
• fractures leg while operating pallet jack and it tipped over
• ankle fractured by falling metal beam where pallet jack tipped over crane
• fractures ankle when struck by double pallet jack with over 6,000 pounds of inventory
• partially amputates toe when run over by pallet jack negligently driven by operator

If you have been injured by someone who operated a hand pallet jack negligently, then you don’t need to suffer in silence – give us a call! We are here for you when you need a lawyer to help you with a serious personal injury case. You can just call us to discuss your case, that won’t hurt, right?

Dangerous Hand Pallet Jack Operators Can Cause Serious Injuries

A hand pallet jack is not a casual piece of equipment that “anyone” can easily use without the proper training. People who use pallet jacks need to be trained on how to properly move and stack those pieces of equipment in a warehouse or big box store. There are definite safety rules on the use of a pallet jack. The loads need to be centered at all times on a pallet jack, or there will be the risk of it tipping or falling over. People using a pallet jack need to be constantly aware of other people who are in the vicinity of the equipment.

Pallet jacks used on steep inclines are a recipe for disaster. They will tip, spill, fall over or even “run-away” from the operator using it, if there is an incline where the pallet jack is being operated. If there is an incline, then the operator needs to stay uphill of the pallet jack to keep it safely balanced and in control. Going down on an incline, the operator needs to walk behind the pallet jack to act as a braking device for the pallet jack (as manual pallet jacks don’t have any brakes).

Free Second Opinion

We are able to offer to you a no risk free second opinion any time that you have additional questions on your case. When you give us a call, you are going to get access to our attorneys who are able to win this case for you, and get you the recovery compensation you need being injured by a hand pallet jack. Just give us a call to talk to our legal team in Los Angeles, ready to help you today.

Can I Sue for a Hand Pallet Injury?

Yes, we can sue for an injury with someone causing you harm from a hand pallet jack. We are here for you in your time of need. Just call our Los Angeles case lawyers, who can file a lawsuit for you to recoup your damages from a personal injury from a hand pallet jack. You can call us and discuss our case with us right now. But we can’t help you unless you pick up your smartphone and give us a call.

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At no time do we ask for or expect any deposit money up front, for talking to you about your case. We offer a zero-fee guarantee, and we are paid when we win the case for you.

Call for a Free Consultation

We have the idea that this is a confusing time for you, and we understand that you need time to heal from your personal injuries. But as you heal, we can start the lawsuit that will give you the peace of mind to pay our mounting medical bills. Just give us a call today. It is easy to do, just pick up your smartphone and dial our number. We are ready to help you now and talk to you about your case for personal injuries after being hurt by someone operating a hand pallet jack.