Advice On Making A Manual Handling Accident Claim
Our specialist solicitors could help you claim compensation for you manual handling accident claim.
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Advice On Making A Manual Handling Accident Claim
This guide will explain the personal injury process after a manual handling accident at work and how skilled solicitors on our panel can help.
Who Can Make A Manual Handling Accident Claim?
If carrying, lifting and bending are part of your job, it can be possible to experience harm if you were not properly trained in manual handling techniques. This training and proper assessment of risk is the responsibility of your employer. If they fail to provide it and you suffer an injury, you may be eligible to make a manual handling accident claim.
Within this guide, we discuss when you could be eligible to make an accident at work claim if you suffered manual handling injuries. Additionally, we share examples of different types of manual handling injuries and what specific accidents could cause them.
We also share how your employer could help prevent a manual handling accident from occurring. After this, we explain compensation – how it is calculated and what it can cover. Evidence is a crucial part of an accident at work claim. So, we detail what you could collect together to support your case.
Our guide then turns to the benefits of seeking compensation with one of our No Win No Fee solicitors.
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Furthermore, you can contact our advisors to discuss your case and receive free advice:
- Call 0151 375 9916
- Complete our claim online form.
- Use our live chat.
What Is A Manual Handling Accident Claim?
You could be able to make a manual handling accident claim if you can prove that your injuries were caused by your employer being negligent.
All employers owe a duty of care under the Health and Safety at Work etc Act 1974 (HASAWA). This states they must take all reasonable and practicable steps to prevent their employees from encountering harm while they work.
Various types of jobs will require employees to carry out manual handling tasks, such as those working in a warehouse, for example. Any bodily force required, such as pulling, lifting, carrying or dragging, is classed as manual handling.
Additionally, the Manual Handling Operations Regulations 1992 requires employers to take steps to assess and minimise the risks of manual handling tasks.
You may be able to make a personal injury claim if you can demonstrate:
- You were owed a duty of care.
- This was breached by your employer.
- You suffered an injury in a manual handling accident due to this breach.
Contact our advisors today to discuss your case.
What Are The Most Common Manual Handling Injuries?
The following list provides some typical manual handling injuries:
- Strains and bruising.
- Cuts and soft tissue injury.
- Crush damage to the hands or foot injury.
- Muscle and ligament tears.
- Slipped discs in the back, neck damage or other spinal injuries.
- Amputations.
Manual handling tasks vary considerably, so you could suffer other forms of injury or a combination of those listed. Please contact our advisors if you would prefer to discuss your manual handling accident claim in person.
How Can An Employer Prevent Manual Handling Accidents?
There are specific health and safety guidelines that apply to manual handling at work. The Health and Safety Executive (HSE), which regulates workplace safety procedures in Britain, provides advice to employers on how to minimise manual handling risks. These include assessing:
- Whether a manual handling task can be avoided, or automised or mechanised.
- The weight and size of the load.
- How far it is being carried.
- The worker’s personal strength and fitness, as well as any medical conditions they may have.
Some examples of how an employer could minimise the risk of an injury occurring could include:
- Breaking down larger loads.
- Ensure staff have received manual handling training.
- Modifying the workplace to minimise twisting and carrying distances.
If you feel that you can prove your employer failed to comply with manual handling regulations and that this caused your injury, speak to our advisory team to see whether you could make a manual handling claim.
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What Are Examples Of Manual Handling Accidents That Could Lead To A Claim?
In this section, we look at some examples of manual handling accidents that could form the basis of a compensation claim:
- The employer neglects to train staff in safe lifting techniques. An employee suffers a back injury trying to lift a box that was too heavy.
- A risk assessment was not carried out prior to some goods on a pallet truck being unloaded. An employee dropped an unexpectedly heavy item on their foot and fractured several bones.
- Essential gloves to help improve grip on awkward-shaped loads were not provided to you despite the need for them being identified. This caused you to suffer a wrist and finger injury when trying to grip onto the box.
There could be numerous other examples of dangerous manual handling practices that lead to an injury to the employee. To discuss your case and see whether you could make a manual handling accident claim, you can contact our advisors.
How Much Compensation For Manual Handling Injuries?
A successful manual handling accident claim can result in two ‘heads of loss’. The main one is referred to as general damages and compensates the person for the physical pain caused by their injuries, as well as any psychological harm.
Those who calculate general damage amounts often refer to medical evidence. Also, they might consult publications that provide guideline compensation brackets for various injuries, like the Judicial College Guidelines (JCG).
We include an excerpt from the JCG below. However, it is essential to remember that these are guideline figures only, and the first figure is not from the JCG.
Compensation Guidelines
| Injury Area | Severity | Award Guidelines | Notes |
|---|---|---|---|
| Cases of multiple severe injuries and special damages | Severe | Up to £500,000 plus | Instances of multiple severe types of harm and special damage payments for lost income, medical bills and care costs. |
| Hands | (b) Serious damage to both hands | £68,070 to £103,200 | Injuries that impact function and cosmetic appearance. |
| Back | (a) Severe (iii) | £47,320 to £85,100 | Fractures to discs and soft, vertebral bodies, as well as disc lesions which despite surgery, still result in pain and agility disabilities. |
| Back | (c) Minor (i) | £9,630 to £15,260 | Where recovery from a soft tissue injury or other minor back injury happens within 2 to 5 years. |
| Wrist | (a) Total loss of function | £58,110 to £73,050 | Cases where there has been a complete loss of usage in the wrist even after some corrective surgery. |
| Knee | (b) Moderate (i) | £18,110 to £31,960 | Torn cartilage, dislocations and damage to meniscus that cause weakness, instability and risk of future disability. |
| Foot | (f) Moderate | £16,770 to £30,500 | A permanent deformity due to metatarsal fractures that are displaced. |
| Shoulder | (b) Serious | £15,580 to £23,430 | Dislocations and injury to the brachial plexus that results in lost strength and sensory issues as well as aching. |
| Shoulder | (c) Moderate | £9,630 to £15,580 | Discomfort with limited shoulder movement due to a frozen shoulder. |
Can I Claim For Loss Of Earnings Caused By A Manual Handling Accident?
It can be possible to include a claim for loss of earnings in your manual handling accident claim. Special damages is the head of loss that reimburses the claimant for financial harm caused by the injury, such as a loss of earnings. It is important that you can submit documented evidence that proves financial harm was caused to you, such as:
- Wage slips that show a reduction or loss in income caused by the injury.
- Medical bills and expenses such as prescription fees.
- Invoices for adaptations to your home or vehicle for a permanent disability.
- The paid invoices for any domestic carers who help you.
- Tickets and receipts that prove the need to travel to essential appointments.
Contact our advisors today to discuss your personal injury claim and receive a free valuation.
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How Do I Make A Manual Handling Accident Claim?
You could claim compensation for a manual handling accident if you have evidence that shows a breached duty of care by your employer caused them. For example, the following evidence can help:
- CCTV footage from the work area that shows the accident.
- The contact information for eyewitnesses who can provide a supporting statement.
- Photos of your visible injuries, such as cuts or bruises.
- A copy of your accident report from the workplace accident book about the incident.
- Medical reports from your GP, the hospital and any specialists you consulted about your injuries.
One of our specialist workplace accident solicitors could help you with gathering evidence for your case. To see if you could work with one of them, contact our advisors.
What Is A No Win No Fee Manual Handling Compensation Claim?
There are numerous advantages to appointing a personal injury solicitor to help with your claim. They bring decades of expertise with them when they collect evidence with you, calculate the compensation owed and argue on your behalf for the best settlement.
Our specialist personal injury solicitors can help eligible claimants start manual handling compensation claims on a No Win No Fee basis. They do this by offering a Conditional Fee Agreement (CFA). This arrangement has many advantages for people looking for legal representation but who are worried about legal costs.
For example, under a CFA, there are:
- No upfront fees required for the solicitor’s services.
- No fees owed for solicitor’s services performed going forward.
- Nothing owed for completed solicitor’s services at all if the claim does not settle in your favour.
- Only a minimal and legally capped percentage amount from the compensation becomes due as a success fee for your solicitor if the claim settles in your favour.
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To see if one of our No Win No Fee solicitors could help you with your manual handling accident claim reach out to the team. They can assess the strength of your claim in minutes with no obligation to proceed unless you’re happy to. Contact our team today by:
- Calling 0151 375 9916
- Completing our claim online form.
- Using our live chat.
Learn More About Claiming For Injuries At Work
Some additional accident at work claims guides by us:
- Learn about warehouse accident claims in this resource.
- Advice on what to do after an accident at work.
- Learn how long after an accident at work you have to make a claim.
External resources:
- Information on back pain from the NHS can be read here.
- Some frequently asked questions about manual handling from the HSE.
- Learn when you could be eligible for statutory sick pay (SSP) from Gov.UK.
To see if you could be eligible to make a manual handling accident claim, contact one of our advisors today.
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