Back Injury at Work – Make a Claim

Sustaining a back injury at work can cause a lot of personal and financial issues for the injured person. Back injuries are common in all types of work environments and are one of the main causes of physical pain at work. Back injuries can range from soft tissue damage to serious spinal injuries and can have long term consequences on your life.

Sometimes, there may be no one to blame for your back injury at work; however, many of these types of injuries are caused by an employer’s negligence. If this is the case, the injured person may be interested in making a claim for a back injury.

If you have injured your back at work as a result of negligence, you could be entitled to personal injury compensation. Contact Beacon Law today to get in touch with one of our personal injury solicitors to start your workplace accident claim on a no win no fee basis.

Common causes of back injury at work

Back injuries can be sustained in the workplace for a variety of reasons. Some are minor back injuries, whilst others may be serious and can have long term effects. Back injuries are one of the most common reasons for accident at work claims. The most common causes of workplace back injuries are discussed below:

• Injuries caused by physical work – Those in physical jobs are particularly vulnerable to sustaining back injuries at work. Many employees in physical jobs are required to perform manual handling tasks, lift heavy loads and perform tasks which involve lifting and moving objects. It is not uncommon to hear that a worker in this type of employment has suffered a back injury as a result of carrying out these types of physical tasks.

If your employer failed to put health and safety procedures in place or failed to provide any proper training or lifting equipment, you could be eligible to make a back injury compensation claim.

• Injuries caused in an office environment – You may be surprised to hear that a large proportion of injuries sustained at work have occurred in an office environment. Back injuries in offices may arise as a result of poor posture, improper chairs and office equipment, and from employees lifting and carrying large piles of papers and boxes of documents and files.

Avoiding a back injury at work

There are many steps that both employers and employees can take to reduce the risk of a back injury occurring. As an employee, you have a duty to take steps to mitigate your own risk of injury at work by:

• Following the correct procedures set in place for lifting and carrying
• Using any lifting equipment provided to lift and transport any heavy objects
• Inform your employer if you are unable to lift certain objects due to their size or weight
• If possible, you should request lifting equipment from your employer if it has not been provided
• Try to practice good posture at work if you work in an office environment

Your employer has a duty of care to mitigate injuries in the workplace. The Manual Handling Operations Regulations 1992 set out rules for employers to follow in regard to all manual handling activities. Under these regulations, manual handling is defined as:

“…any transporting or supporting of a load (including the lifting, putting down, pushing, pulling, carrying or moving thereof) by hand or bodily force“.

The duties placed on your employer to help reduce the risk of back injuries in the workplace include:

• Avoiding the need for manual handling activities to be carried out (there are many jobs, however, where this is not possible)
• Carrying out a risk assessment for all manual handling tasks
• Providing appropriate equipment to assist with lifting and transporting heavy objects
• Providing correct office equipment, such as chairs with sufficient back support and desks at appropriate heights.
• Provide sufficient and appropriate training to all staff

Can you make a back injury at work compensation claim?

There are many types of back injuries you could suffer at work, including fractures, spinal cord damage and herniated discs to name a few. If you have suffered a back injury at work and believe your employer may be to blame, or partially to blame, you may be able to make a claim for compensation.

If you have sustained any sort of injury at work, you should make your employer aware and ensure that the incident has been recorded in an accident book or on an incident report form. You should also attempt to obtain a copy of the incident report.

As with all injuries, you should seek medical attention straight away so that you can have your injuries assessed and obtain medical treatment if required.

If you are interested in making a claim for compensation, contact us today to speak to one of our specialist solicitors who will provide you with the right legal advice for making a claim. If we feel your case has good prospects of success, we will usually agree to proceed with your case under a no win, no fee agreement.

How much are your back injuries worth?

It is difficult to make a valuation on a claim without any knowledge of the full extent of your injuries. Back injuries can vary in the level of severity; some will last only a few weeks or months, whilst others will last for years or may be permanent.

The amount of compensation awarded to you for your injuries will depend on the type of injury and the level of pain and suffering you have sustained.

As many back injuries are complex, especially those which are ongoing, it may be necessary to obtain a medical evaluation of your injuries before we can make an estimation on the value of your injuries.

Our valuation of your general damages will be based on recent case law, as well as guidelines set out by the Judicial College. We will discuss our valuation of your injuries when we have obtained all the required medical evidence before we make any attempts to settle your case with the Defendant.

In addition to your claim for compensation for your injuries, you may also be able to make a claim for additional losses to avoid leaving you in financial risk due to your injuries. Your additional losses can include the following:

• Loss of earnings if you required time off due to the accident.
• Travel costs – for travel to and from medical appointments
• Parking costs at medical appointments
• Costs of any care received
• Medical treatment costs

You should ensure that you keep all receipts and invoices for your additional losses, as these will be required to prove your loss.

Why choose Beacon Law for your back injury at work claim?

Beacon Law is a specialist firm of highly experienced Solicitors and legal professionals. We provide a high level of service to all our clients and work hard to ensure you receive the highest level of accident at work compensation for your injuries.

We have dealt with many personal injury claims involving back injuries at work and have been successful in obtaining high levels of compensation for victims of this type of injury.

We are specialist Personal Injury solicitors with expertise in all types of claims, including accidents at work, road traffic accidents, slips, trips, falls, and criminal injuries. Beacon Law is regulated by the Solicitors Regulation Authority. To find out about our no win, no fee funding, have a look at the funding section on our website. We provide free legal advice within our initial consultation.