BACK INJURY - LIFTING INJURY

Accident at Work Compensation Claim

Back injury is responsible for more days lost at work than for any other reason causing UK businesses to lose an estimated 5 million work days annually due to employee absenteeism brought on by lifting injury and work-related back conditions. Alarmingly the incidence of back injury also costs the NHS over £5 billion every year to treat and that sum is in addition to the value of lost industrial production caused as a result of lifting injury absenteeism. It is believed that most back injuries are avoidable and are in the main caused as a result of inadequate training and the use of unsafe lifting practices. In the majority of cases the provisions contained in the Manual Handling Operations Regulations Act 1992 means that the employer is at fault for lifting injury caused to the employee in the workplace and as such will be liable to pay the employee compensation.

Manual Handling Operations Regulations Act 1992

Back injury claims for compensation usually rely on breaches of the Manual Handling Operations Regulations Act 1992 which puts the onus on employers to keep their employers from doing any lifting which could result in a lifting injury, as far as practically possible. The act also states that employers should provide mechanical assistance, a trolley or hoist for example, to employees when doing heavy lifting wherever reasonably practical. In circumstances where avoiding manual handling is not reasonably possible, employers must conduct a detailed risk assessment of all manual-handling and lifting operations, which takes into account the full nature of the task in order to establish the safest way that the job can be completed to minimize the risk of lifting injury.

Adequate Risk Assessments

An employee can claim for compensation as a result of a back injury if the employer has not completed an adequate risk assessment or has not provided adequate equipment to reduce the need for manual handling in accordance with the Manual Handling Operations Regulations Act 1992. Employees can also claim compensation if they suffer a lifting injury due to a lack of adequate health and safety training.

Responsibility of Employees

While the onus is on employers to ensure a safe workplace and work procedures and to provide adequate equipment where possible, employees are responsible for conducting their work in a safe manner, using the equipment provided to them for lifting and cooperate fully with managers on health and safety issues. An employee who suffers a back injury as a result of poor judgment and failure to follow established safety protocols is not eligible to file a compensation claim against an employer.

No Win No Fee Compensation Claims

If you have suffered from a back injury whilst lifting or otherwise manually handling goods that may be due to employer negligence in failing to provide mechanical assistance or adequate training, you may be eligible for compensation and in order to preserve your legal rights to compensation you should discuss your case in detail with a solicitor as soon as possible.