There are several types of personal protective equipment for manual handling that can prevent injury when performing this kind of task. If your employer fails to provide you with this kind of equipment and you’re injured as a result, they could be liable for your injuries. This guide will explore in what situations you can make a personal injury claim after being harmed at work.
What Types Of Personal Protective Equipment Can Be Used During Manual Handling?
We will also examine how a value could be assigned to your injuries and the different kinds of damages that can be awarded in successful cases. We also look at the evidence you should consider collecting to support your accident at work claim.
To conclude, this guide will outline the benefits of instructing a No Win No Fee solicitor should you have a valid case and want expert legal representation. To find out if you can work with a solicitor on our panel, contact our team of advisors now by:
- Calling us on 0113 460 1216
- Completing our Making A Claim form
- Speaking with us on our website via live chat
Browse Our Guide
- When Could Manual Handling Claims Be Valid?
- What Are The Different Types Of Personal Protective Equipment For Manual Handling?
- Potential Compensation From Manual Handling At Work Claims
- What Evidence Could Help You Make A Manual Handling Injury Claim?
- Use Our Panel Of No Win No Fee Solicitors – Claim Accident At Work Compensation Today
- Learn More About Claiming For Common Manual Handling Injuries
When Could Manual Handling Claims Be Valid?
Your employer has a duty of care to take all reasonable steps to keep you safe in the workplace under the Health and Safety at Work etc. Act 1974. Furthermore, section 4 of The Personal Protective Equipment at Work Regulations 1992 outlines that suitable PPE must be provided when the risk of injury can’t be fully removed. If an employer fails to comply with these legal obligations, you could be harmed as a result. You may be
In order to make a claim after being injured in work, you need to show the following:
- A duty of care was owed to you by your employer
- A breach of this duty of care occurred
- You were injured as a result of your employer’s breach of duty
Contact our team of advisors today to see if you’re eligible to make a personal injury claim.
What Are The Different Types Of Personal Protective Equipment For Manual Handling?
If your role involves safety hazards, where the risk of injury can be reduced by suitable PPE, your employer is obligated to provide you with it. Some types of personal protective equipment for manual handling tasks could include:
- Steel-toed boots, which could prevent a foot injury if you dropped something heavy
- Gloves, which could improve your grip and reduce the chance of you dropping something or prevent hand injuries from cuts
- A hard hat or helmet. This could protect you from falling objects or from sustaining a head injury if you fall while lifting or carrying something.
- Safety goggles. This might be appropriate if, for example, you are asked to carry hot materials like molten metals in a factory.
If your employer has failed to provide you with suitable PPE and you were injured, they could be liable for the harm you were caused. Contact one of our advisors now for guidance on the validity of your work injury claim.
How Could A Manual Handling Injury Be The Result Of Employer Negligence?
The Health and Safety Executive (HSE), the national workplace health and safety regulator, provide manual handling guidelines to reduce the risk of injuries. Employers can utilise HSE’s advice to minimise employees’ injury risk and avoid liability. Different types of personal protective equipment for manual handling could protect from different kinds of hazards.
However, if your employer fails to take reasonable steps to keep you safe and you suffer injuries, you could be entitled to make an accident at work claim. Examples of manual handling injuries arising from employer negligence include:
- Your employer not providing you with any manual handling training on good lifting techniques. As such, you unknowingly twist your back and injure yourself due to uncertainty about how to lift the load safely.
- Your employer not taking into account manual handling safety suggestions and considering your capability to lift a load. Because of this, you’re asked to lift something too heavy and strain your back.
- Your employer not ensuring that cables on a building site are properly secured. Due to this, you trip and fall whilst carrying some materials and hurt yourself.
These are examples where manual handling injuries could result from employer negligence. If you’ve been injured whilst completing a manual handling task, call our advisors now for a free case assessment.
Potential Compensation From Manual Handling At Work Claims
Successful claimants will receive a settlement with up to two heads of claim. General damages are the first, which compensate you for the pain and suffering experienced because of your injuries. The figure awarded is dependent on several factors, including:
- The severity of your injuries and how they have impacted your quality of life
- Any loss of enjoyment you have suffered as a result of your injuries
- How long it’s taken you to recover from your injuries
Additionally, to help work out how much your injuries might be worth, the Judicial College Guidelines (JCG) could be used. The JCG takes figures previously awarded in court cases and puts them into brackets depending on the injury type and severity. Furthermore, your medical records could be used to compare your injuries to these JCG brackets.
Although we cannot guarantee the amount of compensation you could be awarded due to the distinctiveness of each case, below is a table of JCG guideline figures for injuries that could relate to this kind of accident.
Compensation Table
| Injury | Severity | Compensation | Notes |
|---|---|---|---|
| Hand | Total or Effective Loss of One Hand | £96,160 to £109,650 | Hand fully or almost completely amputated following a crush. |
| Severe Fractures to Fingers | Up to £36,740 | Could require partial amputation and results in deformity, impaired grip and reduced function. | |
| Foot | Severe | £41,970 to £70,030 | Fractures of both heels or feet with substantially limited mobility or considerable, permanent pain. |
| Moderate | £13,740 to £24,990 | Displaced metatarsal fractures, resulting in permanent deformity and persistent symptoms. | |
| Toe | Amputation of the Great Toe | In the region of £31,310 | A complete loss of a big toe. |
| Severe | £13,740 to £21,070 | Severe crushes, with the need for amputation of toes excluding the great toe or severe damage. | |
| Wrist | Complete Loss of Function | £47,620 to £59,860 | Loss of any and all function in the wrist. |
| Less Severe | £12,590 to £24,500 | Some permanent disability, like persistent pain and stiffness. | |
| Eye | Complete Loss of Sight in One Eye | £49,270 to £54,830 | One eye has completely lost its function of sight. |
| Minor Vision Impairment | £9,110 to £20,980 | Permanent vision impairment, including persistent double vision. |
Special damages are the second head of claim you might be awarded to recover any reasonable past and future losses you incur because of your injuries. It is very helpful to keep any evidence you have to ensure you’re fully compensated for these losses, like:
- Payslips to outline the earnings you have lost
- Receipts that show how much you paid for prescriptions to recover
- Bus tickets that prove you took public transport due to being unable to drive
Contact one of our advisors now to find out if you can work with a solicitor on our panel. They could potentially help you gather evidence for your manual handling injury claim.
What Evidence Could Help You Make A Manual Handling Injury Claim?
As part of your work injury claim, you will need to prove that employer negligence caused your injuries. You should seek medical attention following an accident, as you will receive any treatment required and this will show on your medical records, which could subsequently be used as evidence.
To support your claim, consider also:
- Requesting CCTV footage of yourself that shows the accident taking place
- Taking photographs of where the accident happened
- Keeping a diary of your symptoms and treatments received
A solicitor could help build evidence to assist with your case. So, contact our team of advisors now to see if you’re eligible to make a work injury claim.
Use Our Panel Of No Win No Fee Solicitors – Claim Accident At Work Compensation Today
Legal representation can help ensure your case runs smoothly. Therefore, consider appointing a No Win No Fee solicitor who offers their services under a Conditional Fee Agreement. With this type of agreement, you would:
- Have no legal fees to pay upfront to begin working with a solicitor
- Have no fees to pay to keep the case progressing
- Have no solicitor fees to pay for their service if your case is unsuccessful
- Pay your solicitor a success fee, which is a small, legally capped percentage of your compensation awarded if successful
Our panel of personal injury solicitors work under this type of No Win No Fee agreement and have years of experience. Additionally, they would only agree to work with you if they felt your case had a good chance of winning. This means you can be confident that your time would be well spent with them.
To find out if you can work with a No Win No Fee solicitor on our panel, contact our advisors now for a free case assessment by:
- Calling us on 0113 460 1216
- Completing our Making A Claim form
- Speaking with us on our website via live chat
Learn More About Claiming For Common Manual Handling Injuries
We hope this guide has clarified the types of personal protective equipment for manual handling and answered any questions you may have had. For more of our guides, look here:
For some external resources, look below:
- Sprains and strains – An NHS Guide
- Statutory Sick Pay – A Government Guide
- Get Medical Help – Information from the NHS
Writer Will Grey
Publisher Fern Stringer