How Manual Handling Injuries Can Be Prevented In The Workplace?

In this guide, we will explore how manual handling injuries can be prevented in the workplace. Employers have a responsibility to ensure your safety and well-being in the workplace and as you carry out work-related tasks, such as manual handling activities. You can find information on the laws they must adhere to and how a failure to do so could lead to a manual handling accident at work.

Our guide also provides information regarding the personal injury claims process if you’ve been injured in an accident at work, including the eligibility criteria you need to meet and the evidence you can gather to support your case.

Furthermore, we will touch on how compensation values can be calculated if your claim is successful. 

Finally, this guide will discuss the advantages of using a No Win No Fee solicitor to assist you when making a claim.

If you require any additional information after reading this guide, please don’t hesitate to get in touch. Our advisors are ready to help 24/7 and could connect you with our panel of personal injury solicitors provided you have valid grounds to pursue compensation.

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How Can Manual Handling Injuries Be Prevented In The Workplace?

Manual handling involves using bodily force to transport loads from one place to another. This can include pushing, pulling and carrying. If these tasks aren’t carried out safely, an injury could be sustained.

The Health and Safety Executive (HSE), who is Britain’s regulator for health and safety in the workplace, stated that 18% of non-fatal injuries in 2021/22 were caused by handling, carrying or lifting at work. This is based on reports made by employers under the Reporting of Injuries, Diseases and Dangerous Occurrences Regulations 2013. 

Furthermore, the HSE provide information on how to reduce the risk of manual handling injuries. Some of the examples they provided to reduce the risk of injury include:

  • Ensuring that whoever is carrying out the manual handling task has been efficiently trained.
  • Make loads lighter, smaller and easier to grasp.
  • Modifying the workplace to reduce twisting movements, carrying distances, or the need to lift things above shoulder height or from the floor.

To learn more about how manual handling injuries can be prevented in the workplace, and the responsibilities your employer has, read on.

When Can You Claim For A Manual Handling Injury?

In order to have a valid personal injury claim, you must meet the below eligibility criteria:

  • You were owed a duty of care by your employer at the date and time of your accident.
  • Your employer breached this duty of care.
  • The breach of this duty of care caused your injuries.

The three criteria above lay the foundation of negligence in personal injury claims. If you can prove negligence occurred, you could be eligible to seek compensation.

Employers have a duty of care to ensure the health and safety to those they employ under the Health and Safety at Work etc. Act 1974 (HASAWA). Providing adequate training and conducting risk assessments are steps which employers could take to prevent workplace injuries.

Additionally, The Manual Handling Operations Regulations 1992 states that employers should avoid any manual handling tasks, where possible, that involve a risk of injury. If it’s not possible to completely avoid manual handling, a risk assessment needs to be carried out and appropriate steps need to be taken to reduce the risk of injury.

Contact our advisors to see whether you may have a valid case today.

How Could Employer Negligence Lead To A Manual Handling Injury?

Examples of how employer negligence can lead to a manual handling injury include:

  • You are asked to carry items over the maximum weight for your height. As a result, you sustain a serious injury such as damage to the muscles in the back.
  • You’re asked to carry a large object that obstructs your vision. When you’re carrying the large object, you are unable to see in front of you and you lose your footing. As a result, you trip and fall and experience a leg injury or an arm injury.
  • Due to inadequate manual handling training, you lift a heavy item from floor level without using the correct techniques. This could result in sustaining a slipped disc.

To find out if you can make a personal injury claim after suffering from a manual handling accident at work, call our advisors now for a free case assessment. They could also help answer any questions you may have, such as ‘How can manual handling injuries be prevented in the workplace?’ to understand whether you’re employer breached their duty of care.

Potential Accident At Work Compensation You Could Receive

A successful manual handling claim can mean a settlement is awarded comprising up to two heads of loss – general damages and special damages. General damages are the primary head, compensating you for the pain and suffering you’ve experienced as a result of your injuries. When the value of general damages is being calculated, the severity of your injuries and the impact they’ve had on your quality of life are some of the factors that will be taken into account.

Legal professionals, such as solicitors, may refer to the Judicial College Guidelines (JCG) when valuing your injuries. The JCG includes compensation guideline figures for an extensive list of injuries. We have included a table below that displays some of the figures stated in the 16th edition of the JCG. However, as every case is unique, these figures are only a guideline, not a guarantee.

Compensation Guideline Table

Injury DetailsCompensation Brackets - Guidelines
Multiple very serious injuries plus special damages. Multiple very serious injuries such as spinal cord injuries and serious fractures plus their financial costs such as lost employment and at home care.Up To £500,000+
Severe Back Injury (i)Spinal cord and nerve root damage.£91,090 to £160,980
Moderate Back Injury (ii)Disturbance of muscles and ligaments which lead to backache.£12,510 to £27,760
Severe Arm InjuryCases of a serious injury to the brachial plexus that leaves the claimant not much better off than if they had lost the arm completely.£96,160 to £130,930
Less Severe Arm InjuryA significant level of disability has been caused but some recovery will have taken place or will be expected to in the future.£19,200 to £39,170
Severe Neck Injury (iii)Severe soft tissue damage or ruptured tendons causing chronic conditions and a permanent and significant disability.£45,470 to £55,990
Moderate Neck Injury (i)Severe and immediate symptoms potentially requiring a spinal fusion from injuries such as fractures and dislocations.£24,990 to £38,490
Severe Leg Injury (iii)Serious injuries such as compound or comminuted fractures.£39,200 to £54,830
Less Serious Leg Injury (ii)Cases of a simple femur fracture with no harm suffered to the articular surfaces. £9,110 to £14,080

Claiming For Financial Losses After A Manual Handling Injury

The secondary head of loss is special damages, which may be awarded to reimburse any financial losses that have resulted from your manual handling injury. These losses may include:

  • Travel costs to medical appointments.
  • Loss of earnings.
  • The cost of vehicle or house amendments, if applicable.
  • Medical costs.

In order to claim these losses back, evidence in the form of receipts, payslips or invoices should be kept to strengthen your claim.

For a free valuation of your potential claim you can get in touch with our advisory team.

Evidence That Could Help You Claim For Manual Handling Injuries

Following an accident at work, obtaining sufficient evidence could help with supporting your personal injury claim. Additionally, it could help with establishing the type of injury you suffered and that it was caused because your employer breached their duty of care. Examples of useful evidence may include:

  • CCTV footage that captured the accident occurring.
  • Photographs of your injuries and the site where the accident took place.
  • The contact information of any witnesses that may give a statement at a later date.
  • Medical records e.g. X-rays scans showing the type of injury you suffered.

You may wish to seek legal assistance to help you gather evidence for your case. If so, you can contact our advisors to see whether one of the solicitors on our panel could help you.

Claim For Manual Handling On A No Win No Fee Basis

If you have suffered a manual handling injury, one of the solicitors on our panel could offer to represent you on a No Win No Fee basis. By offering you a Conditional Fee Agreement (CFA), certain benefits include:

  • No fees to pay your solicitor for them to start working on your case.
  • You won’t have to pay any fee’s for your solicitor’s work while the claim is in progress.
  • If your claim doesn’t win, you don’t need to pay your solicitor fees for the work completed on your case.

If your claim does win, and you are awarded a settlement, a small, legally limited percentage will be taken from the compensation. This is known as a success fee.

Should you have been injured in a manual handling workplace accident, one of the No Win No Fee solicitors off our panel could help you. To find out if you could be eligible to work with one of them, you can get in touch with one of our advisors by:

Find Out More About How Manual Handling Injuries Can Be Prevented In The Workplace

Additional guides by us regarding personal injury claims:

Resources you may find helpful:

For further information on how can manual handling injuries be prevented in the workplace, you can contact our advisory team. They can help you understand whether your employer breached their duty of care and caused you harm. Also, they can advise whether you’re eligible to make a workplace accident claim.

Writer Laura Smith

Editor Meg McConnell/ Megan Clearwater