By Cat Reeves. Last Updated August 20th 2024.This is a guide on manual handling claims. Employers owe a duty of care to their employees to take steps considered both reasonable and practical to prevent them from becoming injured. One of the steps they can take is to provide adequate training to ensure employees are able to carry out their work-related tasks and duties safely. If your employer does not uphold this duty and you are injured as a result, you could be owed workplace accident compensation.
This guide will explore the eligibility criteria that must be met in order to begin a personal injury claim, along with time limits in place for doing so. Also, it will look at key areas of the claims process, such as the evidence you can gather to support your claim.
Additionally, this guide will explore the way in which compensation is calculated and what your potential settlement could include.
Furthermore, we will look at the services the No Win No Fee solicitors from our panel could offer to assist you in seeking compensation.
For more information, you can:
- Call on 0800 408 7825
- Use the contact form on our site
- Use the live chat feature below.
Choose A Section
- Manual Handling Claims – When Are You Eligible To Seek Compensation?
- How Could A Manual Handling Injury Be Caused By Employer Negligence?
- How Much Compensation Can Be Awarded In Successful Manual Handling Claims?
- Evidence That Could Help You Claim For An Accident At Work
- Why Make A No Win No Fee Work Injury Claim?
- Learn More About Manual Handling Claims
Manual Handling Claims – When Are You Eligible To Seek Compensation?
Employers owe their employees a duty of care to ensure their safety as well as the safety of the workplace, environment, equipment, and facilities. This is outlined by the Health and Safety at Work etc. Act 1974 (HASAWA). It states that employers must take all reasonably practicable steps to prevent injuries to their employees.
If your employer fails to uphold their duty of care and this causes you to sustain harm, this is known as negligence, for which you could begin a personal injury claim.
Both physical and psychological harm can be accounted for when seeking compensation, as well as any financial losses you have experienced due to your injuries.
To find out whether you could be eligible to claim compensation for your injuries, get in touch on the number above. An advisor can answer any questions you might have regarding manual handling claims.
How Could A Manual Handling Injury Be Caused By Employer Negligence?
Manual handling covers a range of activities, such as lifting, carrying, lowering, pushing, and pulling. Statistics from the Health and Safety Executive (HSE) state that manual handling is responsible for a third of all workplace injuries, including those to the arms, legs, and joints.
The Manual Handling Operations Regulations 1992 states that employers need to avoid the need for employees to carry out any manual handling activities that carry a risk of them becoming injured. Where this is not possible, they must:
- Assess any risks involved in manual handling activities that cannot be avoided.
- Take appropriate steps to reduce these risks.
A failure to do so could lead to the following manual handling accidents:
- Your employer does not provide you with the necessary personal protective equipment (PPE), such as steel-toe boots when asking you to carry heavy boxes across the warehouse. As a result, you sustain a foot injury after dropping the boxes.
- Your employer asks you to carry out manual handling tasks without providing you with any training on how to carry out the job safely. As a result, you sustain a back injury.
- Your employer does not carry out a risk assessment before tasking you with moving stock from one area of a warehouse to another. As a result, you experience a wrist injury from lifting above the maximum weight for your height.
To discuss your specific accident and whether you could be eligible to claim for the injuries you sustained, get in touch on the number above. An advisor can discuss eligibility with regard to manual handling claims in more detail.
How Much Compensation Can Be Awarded In Successful Manual Handling Claims?
The settlement awarded for successful manual handling claims could comprise compensation for the physical pain and emotional suffering that is caused by your injuries. Additionally, consideration can also be given to the overall impact your injuries have had on your quality of life. This is awarded under general damages.
When calculating this head of claim, personal injury solicitors can use the Judicial College Guidelines (JCG). This publication contains guideline compensation brackets, some of which we have included in the following table. However, these figures should only be used as a guideline because all personal injury claims are unique.
Compensation Bracket
| Body Part | Severity | Compensation Bracket |
|---|---|---|
| Multiple Severe Injuries With Special Damages | Severe | Up to £250,000+ |
| Neck | Severe (ii) | £80,240 to £159,770 |
| Neck | Severe (iii) | £55,500 to £68,330 |
| Back | Severe (iii) | £47,320 to £85,100 |
| Back | Moderate (i) | £33,880 to £47,320 |
| Shoulder | Serious | £15,580 to £23,430 |
| Shoulder | Moderate | £9,630 to £15,580 |
| Wrist | Significant and Permanent Disability | £29,900 to £47,870 |
| Wrist | Less Severe Injuries | £15,370 to £29,900 |
| Arm | Less Severe | £23,430 to £47,810 |
| Toe | Severe | £16,770 to £25,710 |
Special Damages In A Personal Injury Claim
If you encounter monetary losses as a result of your injuries, you could seek reimbursement for these under special damages. Examples of the financial losses you could claim back under this head include:
- Loss of earnings
- Care costs
- Medical expenses
- Travel costs
- The cost of home adaptations
Evidence of these losses can help when claiming them back, such as receipts, payslips, and invoices.
If you would like a personal estimate as to how much accident at work compensation you could be awarded following a successful claim, please speak with our advisors.
Evidence That Could Help You Claim For An Accident At Work
To be entitled to claim, you must prove that you were injured due to your employer breaching their duty of care. Evidence can help establish liability as well as give details on your injuries and how they affected you. There are several ways you could collect sufficient evidence to support your claim, such as:
- Filling out the accident at work book and getting a copy of the incident report.
- Taking pictures of your injuries and the accident scene.
- Seeking medical attention and keeping hold of records produced.
- Gathering witness contact information for statements to be taken at a later date.
- Keeping a record of any financial losses, such as travel tickets, payslips, and receipts.
- Keeping a journal of your mental and physical symptoms as well as any treatment you have received for your injuries.
A solicitor from our panel may be able to assist you in building your case. They have experience handling manual handling claims and could guide you through the different stages of the claims process. To find out more about the services they could provide, get in touch on the number above.
Why Make A No Win No Fee Work Injury Claim?
So, why work with a No Win No Fee solicitor on your manual handling claim? Working with a professional can come with many benefits, as solicitors undergo years of training and work experience before they can qualify. This means that they are familiar with the ins and outs of making a personal injury claim, and can explain any aspects that you don’t understand.
A solicitor can also help you through the manual handling accident claims process by communicating with the defendant and the courts, negotiating your settlement, and explaining any complex legal jargon that comes up throughout the process.
Our panel of manual handling injury claims solicitors do all of this and more under the terms of a Conditional Fee Agreement (CFA). This means that you can access these services without:
- Paying upfront fees.
- Paying for their continued services.
- Paying for their work if the claim fails.
If you make a successful manual handling claim, then your solicitor will take a small success fee. They take this from your compensation as a small percentage, but this is limited by a legal cap.
Contact Us
If you’d like to find out how a solicitor from our panel could help you make a claim after suffering a manual handling injury, get in touch with us today by:
- Call on 0800 408 7825
- Contact us online.
- Use the live chat feature.
Learn More About Manual Handling Claims
Here are more of our guides related to work injury claims:
- How do you make a head injury at work claim?
- Who could claim for a zero-hour contract staff accident at work?
- Do I get full pay if injured at work?
Additionally, we have included other external resources:
Thank you for reading this guide on manual handling claims. If you have any additional questions, please speak with an advisor from our team.
Article by EA
Publisher EI