When I first started practicing law back in 1988, I worked as an associate attorney for a well established insurance defense law firm. I stayed at that firm for about 7 years before leaving to start my own practice, representing injured workers.
My days as an insurance defense lawyer were invaluable, however, because I learned a great deal about workers’ comp. law from some very good lawyers and I litigated hundreds of cases. I also traveled throughout the state and got to see numerous job sites in person.
I remember distinctly visiting several poultry processing plants north of Atlanta near Gainesville. I will never forget watching poultry workers “popping blisters” on conveyor lines of chickens moving quickly overhead.
It is no surprise that poultry plant workers experience a high number of work injuries. The most obvious type of injuries are repetitive motion injuries such as carpel tunnel, but I also see shoulder injuries, crush injuries and puncture wounds.
Now, I am reading that the U.S. Department of Agriculture has proposed a rule change that will reduce federal oversight of poultry processing plants while allowing processors to speed up their kill lines. 1.
The federal government will save $90 over three years by eliminating the fourth inspector. At the same time, large processing companies will save over $250 million by increasing the speed of the lines. [Read more…] about Poultry Plant Worker Injuries Likely to Increase Under New USDA Regulations
- Currently USDA regulations required processors to allow four inspectors per line with the lines producing 140 chickens per minute. The new regulations would only call for three inspectors per line, while allowing the lines to turn 25% faster – 175 birds per minute. ↩