Manual Handling is one of the most common causes of injury in the workplace. Manual Handling generally includes; lifting, lowering, pushing, pulling or carrying, and most employees carry out some sort of manual handling within their working day.
Common types of injury caused by manual handling are:
- Back pain
- Sprains and strains to lower back and shoulders
- Damages to muscles and tendons
The Manual Handling Operations Regulations were introduced in 1992 in order to keep employees safe in the workplace and to reduce the number of employees injured at work.
The Manual Handling Operations Regulations 1992 set out that employer should ‘so far as is reasonably practicable, avoid the need for his employees to undertake any manual handling operations at work which involve a risk of injury‘ and ‘shall make a suitable and sufficient assessment of all such operations which cannot be avoided‘ plus ‘shall take appropriate steps to reduce the risk of injury during those operations to the lowest level reasonably practicable‘.
Employers must therefore Avoid, Assess and Reduce the risks created by manual handling. Employers might like to carry out a risk assessment and investigate any potential risks or hazards in order to avoid and reduce work place accidents. Employers must ensure all employees receive adequate and sufficient training on all aspects of manual handling; on how to use handling equipment and how to lift and pull a load correctly.
Employees also have their part to play with regards to manual handling and any potential risks; Employees are expected to follow any handling systems, and use any equipment that is in place to protect their safety. Employees are also expected to keep employers up to date with any potential risks within the workplace.
Do you have a potential claim? Have you been injured at work due a manual handling failure? If so you may be able to bring about a work injury claim for compensation. Compensation might be available if you have injured yourself in the work place and it wasn’t your fault. The amount of compensation available is dependent on the injury you have suffered; medical evidence and photographs may be needed in order to support your claim.
Call our free helpline on 0800 634 75 75 for further advice.
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