However, employees get injured in other ways as well. It is not uncommon for us to hear of ‘Repetitive Strain Injuries’ or ‘RSI’. This is where people suffer pains from having repeatedly used a particular part of their body. In most instances this sort of injury will affect your arms, back, fingers, wrists, shoulders, neck or elbows. Usually those who find themselves suffering from this sort of injury will have undertaken repetitive duties over a prolonged period without having enough rest time. In the UK alone, thousands of workers are away from work as a result of RSI’s. One can only imagine the cost of this to both employees and to businesses.
If you are reading this blog it means that in all likelihood you are sat in front of your computer. For many, your job will involve you sitting in front of a computer as well. If you undertake data entry tasks, this can be repetitive and cause RSIs. Likewise, a job sitting at a checkout in a supermarket can lead to an RSI where there is an insufficient rest period. A further example of where an RSI can be picked up is in warehouses where you are repeatedly carrying out the same manual handling tasks. Symptoms of RSI’s include:
- A particular part of your body feeling numb, aching or tingling
- You feel in pain even when you are not really up to much
- A tenderness in your muscles
- Cramps
If you consider yourself to have any of the above symptoms and you believe that this is because you are repeatedly carrying out the same tasks on a daily basis, it is advisable to visit your GP, who will be able to diagnose an RSI. Once you have done this it may be worthwhile contacting a quality injury lawyers like those at The Injury Lawyers who can provide you with some free legal advice on your potential claim. This, as I will explain, is because your employer owes you a duty of care to help prevent any such instances of you suffering from an RSI.
Under the Health Safety at Work Act 1974 and the Management of Health and Safety at Work Regulations, your employer owes you a duty of care to make sure that the potential for you to suffer from an RSI is heavily reduced. Your employer must consider your job role, and if they believe that it could potentially be too repetitive and cause you injury, then they are to allow you adequate breaks or a change in working activities.
So, if you have an RSI and you believe that your employer has not carried out their duty to ensure your health and safety or ignored you telling them that you are in pain as a result of your working duties, then please do get in touch today for some free, no obligations, legal advice. The Injury Lawyers have years of experience of dealing with these sorts of claims, so should you instruct us, you would be in very capable hands.