A Guide To Claiming For Manual Handling Back Injuries
In this guide, we are going to look at the eligibility criteria for making a personal injury claim for manual handling back injuries caused in the workplace.
We will discuss examples of employer negligence that give rise to manual handling claims and how you could prove this. Furthermore, we will look at what compensation you could receive if your accident at work claim is successful.
To conclude, this guide will examine the benefits of instructing a No Win No Fee solicitor to act on your case. To discover if your case is valid, contact our advisors today for a free case assessment by:
- Calling us on 0161 696 9685
- Filling in our Contact Us form
- Speaking with an advisor using the live chat function on our website
Browse Our Guide
- When Are You Eligible To Claim For Manual Handling Back Injuries?
- How Can Manual Handling Back Injuries Be Caused By Employer Negligence?
- Evidence That Could Help In A Work Injury Claim
- How Much Compensation Could Be Received From Manual Handling Claims?
- Claim For A Manual Handling Injury On A No Win No Fee Basis
- Learn More About Claiming For Manual Handling Back Injuries
When Are You Eligible To Claim For Manual Handling Back Injuries?
Your employer owes you a duty of care while you are working. They must have taken all reasonable steps to ensure your safety under the Health and Safety at Work etc. Act 1974. To fulfil this duty of care, it is vital that if your job role requires you to carry out manual handling tasks, your employer ensures you are appropriately trained to prevent you from being harmed.
Also, your employer must avoid manual handling at work, which involves a risk of you being injured, or where this is not possible, they should reduce the risk of injury under The Manual Handling Operations Regulations 1992.
Below are the eligibility criteria for making a manual handling injury claim following an accident in the workplace:
- Your employer owed you a duty of care at the time of your accident.
- Your employer breached their duty of care through their acts or omissions.
- You suffered an injury due to your employer’s breach of their duty of care owed to you.
If you have solid ground to pursue an accident at work claim, call our advisors for a free case assessment. Providing your case is eligible; they may offer to pass you over to a solicitor on our panel.
How Can Manual Handling Back Injuries Be Caused By Employer Negligence?
Below we look at how, if an employer were to breach their duty of care and not adhere to health and safety legislation, you could be harmed in the workplace.
- Your employer fails to provide you with manual handling training, however, they still ask you to carry out tasks that require lifting and supporting items in the workplace. Due to not knowing the correct lifting techniques, you pick up a heavy box and twist your back.
- You are asked by your employer to pick up an item that is too heavy for one person to transport. Even though you highlight this to your employer, you are forced to carry the item, and this causes a prolapsed disc.
- You have an existing back injury which your employer is aware of, however, you are still asked to carry out manual handling activity, and this leads to your back injury worsening.
Call our advisors now to find out if you could make a claim for the manual handling back injuries you have suffered at work. If they find that your case meets the personal injury claim eligibility criteria, they could offer to connect you with a solicitor from our panel.
Evidence That Could Help In A Work Injury Claim
To prove that employer negligence caused your injuries, you will need evidence. If you suffer manual handling back injuries, you should seek medical attention. Doing so could not only ensure that you get the treatment you need to make a good recovery, but it will also generate medical records that you could use as evidence.
You could gather other evidence to prove employer negligence by:
- Requesting CCTV footage of yourself
- Taking photographs of your injuries and the place the accident happened
- Asking witnesses for their contact details in case a statement is needed from them at a later date.
If you are still determining what evidence you need for your case and how to get it, a solicitor could help you. Contact our team of advisors today for a free case assessment.
How Much Compensation Could Be Received From Manual Handling Claims?
You may want to know what you could be awarded when making a back injury at work claim. Successful cases can receive up to two heads of claim. The first is general damages, awarded in all successful claims.
General damages compensate you for the pain and suffering caused due to your manual handling back injuries. The amount you receive would depend on several factors, including:
- The severity of your injuries and how much it has impacted your life
- Any loss of enjoyment you have encountered due to missing events because of your injuries
- How long it will take you to recover, as well as the treatments you require along the way
Solicitors may use the Judicial College Guidelines (JCG) when valuing your injuries. Additionally, solicitors can obtain your medical reports to compare with the JCG, helping them to assign value to your injuries.
Below is a table of valuations found in the JCG for different injuries. Please be aware that these figures are not guaranteed and vary in each case.
Compensation Table
| Injury | Severity | Compesation | Notes |
|---|---|---|---|
| Back | Severe (i) | £91,090 to £160,980 | Damage to spinal cord and nerves, leaving severe pain, disability and partial paralysis. |
| Severe (iii) | £38,780 to £69,730 | Disc lesions and fractures, with chronic conditions from soft tissue damage. There will also be disability, even after treatment. | |
| Moderate (i) | £27,760 to £38,780 | Compression and crush fractures of lumbar spine with high risk of osteoarthritis and constant pain. | |
| Moderate (ii) | £12,510 to £27,760 | Ligament and muscle damage, leaving back ache. Also acceleration of pre-existing injuries, due to soft tissue damage. | |
| Minor (ii) | £4,350 to £7,890 | Damage to soft tissue, fractures and strains, recovering without the need for surgery in one to two years. | |
| Neck | Severe (i) | In the region of £148,330 | Incomplete paraplegia or minimal neck movement and constant headaches. |
| Moderate (ii) | £13,740 to £24,990 | Soft tissue damage with disc lesions and very limited movement in neck. Permanent discomfort and potential requirement for surgery. | |
| Moderate (iii) | £7,890 to £13,740 | Injuries that accelerate current conditions. Also involves soft tissue injuries and further trauma is a risk. |
Special Damages In A Claim For A Back Injury At Work
The second head of claim is special damages. Where general damages compensate you for an injury, special damages compensate for its cost. This is because special damages recover reasonable costs incurred due to your injuries.
Such costs you could recover include:
- Earnings that you have lost due to being unable to work
- Medical expenses required in your rehabilitation
- Bus fare needed as you couldn’t drive whilst injured
You should provide as much evidence as possible to maximise the compensation you could be awarded. Examples of evidence you could provide for the costs above include:
- Payslips showing what you should have earned had you not been injured
- Receipts or invoices proving the amount you paid for treatments to recover
- Bus tickets showing that you did get public transport because of your injuries and how much it cost you
For help gathering evidence to support your claim, speak with our advisors today. They could pass you over to a solicitor on our panel if your case is eligible.
Claim For A Manual Handling Injury On A No Win No Fee Basis
Legal representation can help ensure your personal injury claim runs smoothly. They may work on a type of No Win No Fee basis, called a ‘Conditional Fee Agreement’.
This means that:
- No upfront fees would be required for the services of your solicitor.
- No fees would be needed as your case moves forward.
- If your claim were unsuccessful, you wouldn’t need to pay your solicitor for their service.
- If your claim were successful, your solicitor would only take a ‘success fee’. This is a small, legally capped portion of the compensation awarded.
Our panel of solicitors offer this type of agreement and have years of experience. Furthermore, your time working with them would be well spent since they only take cases they believe have a good chance of success. To find out if you can claim for your manual handling back injuries, contact our team of advisors by:
- Calling us on 0161 696 9685
- Filling in our Contact Us form
- Speaking with an advisor using the live chat function on our website
Learn More About Claiming For Manual Handling Back Injuries
We hope this guide has answered your questions about claiming for manual handling back injuries. For more of our articles, look below:
- Still Employed? – A guide on if you can sue
- Claiming Against My Employer – Discussing if this could create problems
- Probation Period – Outlining if you can still make a claim
For some external resources, look here:
- Statutory Sick Pay – A guide by Gov UK
- Back Pain – A guide by the NHS
- Employment Status – Information provided by Gov UK