Lifting too much in any environment can be a real recipe for disaster. The last thing anyone wants to do is injure their back – which is ultimately one of the worst areas to injure yourself! Back injuries can often be lengthy, painful, debilitating, and cause long term problems. That’s why we have The Manual Handling Operations Regulations to protect employees in the workplace from excessive lifting injuries.
So what are your rights and what can you do if this has happened to you? Read on for more info about making a workplace claim for personal injury compensation for manual handling injuries.
What the Regulations Impose on Employers
The regulations say that employers must do all they can to prevent manual handling activities in the workplace. Where they cannot be prevented, equipment should be provided to allow for loads to be carried with ease. Where equipment cannot be feasibly used, we have the last resort of physical lifting.
If there must be physical manual handling, it needs to be done properly. The weight and size of the load needs to be taken in to account to ensure that it can be lifted safely. If it’s too heavy or large and it requires more than one person to lift it, you should have assistance available.
If you are expected to lift loads that are too heavy or big, or if you are expected to lift large volumes of loads without equipment or proper breaks, your employer may be in breach of these regulations.
When they’re in breach, you should have a claim.
What They Mean for Employees
What it means for employees is protection from having to carry out manual handling tasks that are dangerous. If the rules are ignored by employers and you are injured, the regulations give you the right to make a claim for personal injury compensation. All employers should legally be insured, so all we need to do is recover the compensation that is owed to you from the insurers.
There is of course the duty of the employee to make sure they adhere to manual handling training and procedures in the workplace. You normally cannot claim if you are told not to lift a particular weight or size, and you go ahead and do it anyway; causing an injury. It’s a two way thing – so you need to adhere to the rules as well.
Of course, if you have not had proper training or instruction, you cannot be expected to simply know whether you’re doing something wrong or not. If you’re injured due to a lack of training and instruction, you can still make a claim.
What You Should Do
Call our free claims helpline on 0800 634 75 75 and we can usually tell you in minutes if we think you have a claim or not. We work on a Genuine No Win, No Fee basis with no fees to pay for upfront so you are not out of pocket if the case doesn’t succeed.
