Back Strain Compensation Claim

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

If you would like legal advice on your potential back strain compensation claim, please either:

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Case Study: Back Strain Compensation Claim

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The Legal framework - Can I Claim for a Back Strain at Work?

A typical compensation claim for back pain in England and Wales normally depends 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, to avoid back strain.

The maximum safe weight depends on the nature of the lift.

Factors must be taken into account such as distance from the body, and height above the ground.

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

The appendix to the Regulations contains a diagram.

As can be seen from the diagram, to avoid low back pain, 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 near the ground, 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 under the Regulations is 10 kg.

The Regulations treat men and women differently.

To assess the safe permissible weight that a woman should 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 and sufficient" risk assessment must be undertaken

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Back strain compensation overview

Since qualifying as a solicitor 17 years ago, I have handled a number of back injury claims, by far the greatest number involving lower back pain.

Usually the injury is caused by unsafe lifting.

Back strain sufferers often report the following difficulties:

• Depression
• Constant pain
• Broken sleep
• Feelings of isolation
• Strained relationships
• A gradual melting away of initial support, as there is no visible injury
• Worry about how long it will take for the pain to resolve
• Confusion and indecision over the range of medical options
• Anxiety over whether to have a spinal fusion operation
• Being unable to return to work
• Financial difficulties
• Loss of sexual function

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The final straw - Can I claim compensation if my back strain at work was cumulative?

With some back injuries, for example those involving repetitive lifting, the back strain can develop over a prolonged 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 relatively mild strain for the back to break down completely.

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

• Bending down to apply shrink wrapping to goods positioned on a pallet, after a year spent repetitively lifting at a factory in Birmingham making portable aircraft runway lights
• A rear end shunt, in a road traffic accident
• Sneezing during the morning tea break, following a period of 6 months undertaking heavy home deliveries in the employment of a catalogue company in Northampton

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How much Compensation could I get for my Back Pain Claim?

If your back injury claim is successful, then you will get compensation:

• For your injuries
• For your financial losses, including loss of earnings

To calculate the compensation for your injuries, solicitors, judges and insurers use a number of reference works, including:

• The Judicial Studies Board guidelines
• Kemp and Kemp
• Current Law

Taking the JSB guidelines as an example, the following amounts are listed for different types of back injury:

• Crushed lumbar vertebrae, with substantial risk of osteoarthritis and constant pain and discomfort, with impairment of sexual function: £16,300 to £22,650
• Soft tissue injuries resulting in exacerbation of an existing back condition, or prolapsed discs: £7,125 to £16,300
• Strains, sprains, disc prolapses and soft tissue injuries with a full recovery within about 5 years: £4,575 to £7,125

In many cases, the injured person undergoes a lengthy period of medical investigation and treatment before an end point is reached. Only then can a meaningful valuation of the compensation claim be made.

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The tactics used by insurers

In back strain 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 "friendly" and "approachable".

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

They (or their solicitors) often employ the following tactics:

• Alleging that no accident took place
• Even if it is conceded that there was an accident, trying to blame the injured person
• Checking the injured person's GP records, to try to establish a pre-existing lower back strain
• Alleging that the symptoms are consciously exaggerated
• Maintaining that proper manual handling training was provided, but the claimant failed to follow it
• Commissioning a medical examination with an "insurance-friendly" orthopaedic surgeon
• Arranging video surveillance covertly
• Refusing to respond to the claim until county court proceedings have been issued

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Role of the solicitor in a typical personal injury claim for back pain

In my experience, the solicitor dealing with back strain compensation claims must always:

• Anticipate the usual tactics used by the defendant insurers
• Press the opposing insurers to give complete disclosure of their manual handling training records and risk assessments, if indeed they have them
• Issue proceedings if appropriate co-operation from the insurers is not forthcoming
• Crucially, provide appropriate moral support to an often very anxious client, throughout the lifetime of the case

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Back injury risk assessments

In most back strain 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 manually handled
• The working environment generally
• The capabilities of the individual person

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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.

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The final word

If you would like legal advice on your back strain compensation claim, please either:

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