UK Back Injury Compensation Claim

Welcome to the website of Boris Kremer, a UK personal injury solicitor.

If you would like an initial free assessment of your potential back injury compensation claim, please either:

---

Case Study: Back Injury Compensation Claim

---

The Legal framework

Back injury compensation claims in England and Wales normally depend upon the Manual Handling Operations Regulations [1992].

Under the Manual Handling Regulations, there are limits on the maximum weight that an employee should be required to lift.

The maximum safe weight varies.

Factors such as distance from the body, and height above the ground, must be factored in.

Does the lift involve twisting? If so then the safe maximum weight is reduced.

In the appendix to the Regulations is a diagram.

As can be seen, the maximum weight that a man should be required to lift from waist height is 25 kg.

If a man is lifting an object from foot height, but away from his body, the maximum is 5 kg.

Similarly, if a man is required to lift something from shoulder height, but close to his body, then the maximum permissible weight is 10 kg.

Men and women are treated differently, under the Regulations.

To assess the safe maximum weight that a woman should reasonably be required to lift at work, the figures stated above must be reduced by 30%.

The Regulations state that, so far as is reasonably practicable, the employer must:

• Avoid the need for employees to undertake any manual handling, which involves a risk of injury
• Where it is not feasible to avoid manual handling, then a suitable risk assessment must be carried out

---

Back injury compensation overview

Since qualifying as a solicitor in 1993 I have handled a number of back injury claims.

Usually the injury is caused by unsafe lifting.

Back injury sufferers often report the following difficulties:

• Depression
• Loss of motivation
• Constant pain
• Broken sleep
• Feelings of isolation
• Strained family relationships
• Fading away of initial support, as there is no visible injury
• Uncertainty over when the pain will resolve
• Confusion over the range of medical options
• Anxiety over whether to have back surgery
• Inability to return to work
• Financial difficulties
• Loss of sexual function

---

The final straw

With some back injuries, the onset of pain is cumulative.

For example in cases involving repetitive lifting, the injury can develop over an extended period of time.

This can lead to the injured person's back ending up in an "incipient state of collapse".

In other words, it can just take a minor incident for the back to break down.

I have previously advised in back injury claims where the "final straw" has been:

• Bending down to apply shrink wrapping to goods on a pallet, after a year spent repetitively lifting at a factory making portable aircraft runway lights
• Bending down to tuck in a duvet, following an extended period of lifting and carrying heavy laundry bags at a hotel
• Sneezing during the morning tea break, following a period of 6 months on home deliveries for a catalogue company

---

The tactics used by insurers

In back injury compensation claims, the opponent is nearly always one of the big "household name" insurance companies.

Insurance companies always like to portray themselves in TV 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 of their nature.

The following tactics are often encountered:

• Alleging that no accident took place
• Even if it is admitted that there was an accident, trying to blame the injured person
• Checking the injured person's GP records, to try to establish pre-existing back trouble
• Alleging that the symptoms are exaggerated
• Maintaining that manual handling training has been provided
• Commissioning a medical examination with an "insurer-friendly" orthopaedic surgeon
• Arranging covert video surveillance
• Refusing to respond to the claim until county court proceedings are started

---

Role of the solicitor

In my experience, back injury compensation claims need a certain type of approach. The lawyer who is successful in fighting such claims must:

• Anticipate the usual tactics used by the defendant insurers, and employ suitable countermeasures
• Press the opposing insurers to give full disclosure of their manual handling training records and risk assessments
• Issue proceedings if appropriate co-operation from the insurers is not forthcoming
• Crucially, provide appropriate reassurance to an often anxious client, throughout the lifetime of the case

---

Back injury risk assessments

In most back injury compensation claims, the existence or otherwise of a risk assessment will be important factor in assessing legal liability. The risk assessment must cover the following:

• The nature of the work
• The nature of the item being carried
• The working environment generally
• The capabilities of the person

---

Further Reading

For information and support for people with all types of back pain, please visit the website of BackCare, a national charity that aims to reduce the burden of back pain by providing information and support, promoting good practice and funding research.

Further information on the topic of back injury is available at the NHS website, and their website also contains a page specifically devoted to back pain. See also the website of the Spinal Injuries Association.

---

The final word

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

Thank you for visiting, Boris Kremer

UK back injury compensation claim legal advice.
Back injury claims