UK Back Injury Claim

If you would like to discuss your potential back injury claim, please:

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Case Study: Back Injury Claim

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The legal framework

Back injury claims nearly always rely upon the Manual Handling Operations Regulations 1992.

The Manual Handling regulations say that, so far as is reasonably practicable, the employer must:

• Avoid the need for his employees to undertake any manual handling operations at work, which involve a risk of their being injured
• The Regulations contain a Diagram, shown on the right. This states the maximum safe weights that an employee might be expected to lift
• Where it is not reasonably practicable to avoid the need for manual handling, then a suitable risk assessment must be carried out

Back injury risk assessments

In nearly every back injury claim, the existence or otherwise of a risk assessment will be important consideration in assessing legal liability.

The risk assessment must take into account factors such as:

• The nature of the task
• The nature of the load being carried
• The working environment
• The capabilities of the individual

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Back injury claim overview

Over the last 15 years I have handled a number of back injury claims, caused by work.

Back injury sufferers often describe the following difficulties:

• Constant pain
• Broken sleep
• Depression and loss of motivation
• Social withdrawal, and feelings of isolation
• Strained family relationships
• Confusion concerning the range of medical options
• Anxiety over whether to have surgery
• Fading away of initial support, as there is no visible injury
• Uncertainty over when the pain will resolve
• Inability to return to previous job
• Financial pressure
• Loss of sexual function

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The final straw

In some back injury cases, the injury is cumulative.

In cases involving repetitive lifting, the injury can be caused over an extended period of time. This can lead to the person's back ending up in what is called an "incipient state of collapse". In other words, it just takes a minor incident for the back to break down.

I have previously dealt with back injury compensation claims where the "final straw" has been:

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Types of Back Injury

Back injuries can encompass a wide range of conditions including:

• Strains, sprains and soft tissue injuries
• Disc prolapses
• Disturbance and ligaments and muscles, giving rise to backache
• The acceleration/exacerbation of a pre-existing condition
• Crush fractures of lumbar vertebrae
• Injuries requiring spinal fusion
• Cauda equina syndrome (back pain with impaired bladder and bowel function, sexual difficulties and numbness in lower limbs)

Whatever the precise nature of the back injury, the principle of obtaining compensation is always the same. The principle is to put the injured person back in the position they would have been, but for the accident.

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Tactics used by Insurers

In many cases the claim is contested. Insurance companies like to portray themselves in television advertising as being "cuddly" and "approachable".

However when fighting to obtain damages from them in a back injury compensation claim, they reveal a very different side to their character.

The following tactics are often used:

• Alleging that there was no actual accident
• Even if it is conceded that there was an accident, then trying to blame the injured person
• Trawling through the injured person's GP records, to try to prove pre-existing back trouble
• Maintaining that the symptoms are being exaggerated
• Alleging that proper manual handling training has been provided
• Arranging a medical examination with a "pro-insurer" orthopaedic surgeon
• Refusing to acknowledge the claim until county court proceedings are issued

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The role of the solicitor

In my experience, back injury claims require a certain type of approach. The solicitor who is fighting these cases must must:

• Anticipate the tactics used by the insurers, and employ suitable countermeasures
• Press the opposing insurers to provide disclosure of appropriate manual handling training records and risk assessments
• Issue court proceedings if co-operation from the opposing insurers is not forthcoming
• Very importantly, provide appropriate support and reassurance to an often anxious and distressed client, throughout the lifetime of the case

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The final word

Although back injury claims can be difficult, they are winnable. If you would like an initial free assessment of your potential claim, please either:

UK back injury claim legal advice.
Back injury compensation