We are pleased to have settled a case for a client of ours who was told to perform a dangerous manual handling task that resulted in injuries being sustained in the workplace. She was asked to carry heavy gift items down a flight of stairs where she was unable to use any handrail due to the nature of the items being lifted, and was overloaded as well.
Luckily she escaped with minor bruising and cuts to her legs but it was enough to cause injury and distress which was entirely preventable.
Manual handling in the workplace is subject to The Manual Handling Operations Regulations and the rules are necessarily strict. Tasks should be risk assessed and staff taking part in any manual handling activities need to be properly trained and supervised where necessary. The route of the lift is as important as the size and weight of the load being carried because risks like stairs need to be taken in to account.
When stairs are a part of a lifting route, identification of whether the route is safe or whether additional staff should be involved should be assessed. In the case of our client here she was already overloaded with the items she was carrying after a lengthy and gruelling shift and she had no way of stopping herself losing balance on the stairs due to the weight of the load she was carrying.
Clearly this was a dangerous practise and her employer was liable.
Refusing compensation
Initially her employer had no offers to make so it took our specialist lawyers taking court action to enforce her rights to claim. We formally issued and served court proceedings on them and a reasonable offer of £5,000 was made which our client was happy to accept. She didn’t have to attend court though – even when the court process is used its highly unlikely you’ll end up attending at a hearing.
As specialist work accident lawyers we’re constantly taking on and winning work accident compensation claims and we’re more than versed in representing people for manual handling claims as well as any other manner of work injury case. The clue is in our name – we are The Injury Lawyers; so why would you trust your work accident claim with anyone else?
For free legal advice and expert representation call our claims helpline on 0800 634 7575 today.