Claims Guide For Slip, Trip, And Fall Injuries Caused By Manual Handling
This guide will look at how can manual handling cause slip, trip, and fall injuries and whether you could make a personal injury claim following this type of accident. Firstly in this guide, we will explain how injuries could be caused when carrying out manual handling tasks in the workplace. This will be followed by the eligibility criteria for making an accident at work claim for injuries suffered in the workplace.
Next, we will look at the two types of damages you could claim compensation for following a workplace accident and how this compensation is calculated.
Evidence is key when proving that you suffered an injury in the workplace and also for showing liability therefore, we will examine the type of proof you could collect to help support your claim.
Finally, we will discuss the benefits of No Win No Fee agreements if you use a legal professional. Our panel of solicitors work on this basis, so contact our team of advisors today to find out if you have an eligible personal injury claim:
- Calling us on 0800 408 7825
- Filling in our call back form
- Chatting with us using our live chat function on the website
Browse Our Guide
- How Can Manual Handling Cause Slip, Trip And Fall Injuries?
- When Are You Able To Claim For A Manual Handling Fall Injury?
- What Compensation Could You Receive For A Manual Handling Fall Injury Claim?
- What Do You Need To Claim For An Accident At Work?
- Want To Make A Manual Handling Injury Claim On A No Win No Fee Basis?
- Learn More About Claiming For Slip Trip And Fall Injuries
How Can Manual Handling Cause Slip, Trip And Fall Injuries
Here we are going to look at how can manual handling cause slip, trip, and fall injuries, and whether could you make a compensation claim for the harm you have suffered. Manual handling often means carrying, lifting, pushing or pulling a load as well as supporting it.
Employers have a duty of care to ensure that when an employee is carrying out a task, they are trained to do this safely. If you are tasked with manual handling activities at work, it is vital that you have the correct training. As well as this, it is vital that employers carry out manual handling risk assessments not only on the work environment but also on the employee and job task itself to ensure it can be completed in the correct and safest way.
Firstly, your employer must consider several factors when dealing with manual handling at work, including:
- Your capability to complete a task
- Workplace environment conditions
- Training that you should be provided with
However, if your employer fails to train you on manual handling or risk assess the environment, then foreseen risks could cause you to be injured. For example:
- You are asked by your employer to carry a load that is too large therefore, you cannot see the wires that are causing a hazard across the warehouse floor. You trip and suffer shoulder, arm and hand injuries.
- There is a leaking pipe that has not been fixed or signposted as you pick up delivery boxes, you lose your footing on the slippery floor, causing you to fall back and suffer ligament and muscle damage in your back.
If you have been injured in a slip, trip or fall while carrying out manual handling activities, contact our team of advisors. They will assess your case, including its eligibility, and may pass you on to a solicitor on our panel.
When Are You Able To Claim For A Manual Handling Fall Injury?
An employer’s duty of care as stated in the Health and Safety at Work etc. Act 1974 is to ensure that they take steps that are reasonably practicable to protect their employees’ health, safety and welfare. Should an employer fail to meet their duty of care and this leads to an employee being harmed, they could be liable.
So, the eligibility criteria for pursuing a personal l injury claim after an accident at work are as follows:
- That your employer owed you a duty of care.
- That your employer breached their duty of care. This could be through their acts or their omissions.
- That you suffered harm either mentally or physically.
To find out if you can make a personal injury claim following your employer’s negligence or for advice on how to claim workplace accident compensation, please contact us using the details in this article.
What Compensation Could You Receive For A Manual Handling Fall Injury Claim?
If your manual handling fall injury claim is successful, you can receive up to two types of compensation damages. Primarily, you would receive general damages. This type of award compensates you for the pain and suffering you have experienced due to your injuries. The amount you receive will be based on factors like:
- The severity of your injuries
- How the accident has affected your quality of life
- Any loss of enjoyment you encountered due to your injury.
To help solicitors assign values to your injuries, they use the Judicial College Guidelines (JCG). This document provides guidance for the valuation of injuries, depending on the type and severity suffered.
Additionally, solicitors may use a medical report from the independent medical assessment. They would then be able to correlate the information in both documents to help work out how much you could receive.
Below you will find compensation brackets taken from the JCG. Please be aware that these are only for guidance as each and every claim is valued on its unique circumstances.
Injury Compensation Table
| Injury and Severity | Compensation Guidelines |
|---|---|
| Back Injury - Severe (i) | £91,090 to £160,980 |
| Back Injury - Moderate (ii) | £12,510 to £27,760 |
| Knee Injury - Severe (i) | £69,730 to £96,210 |
| Wrist - Injury (A) | £47,620 to £59,860 |
| Wrist Injury - (C) | £12,590 to £24,500 |
| Pelvis and Hips Injury - Moderate (i) | £26,590 to £39,170 |
| Shoulder Injury - Serious | £12,770 to £19,200 |
| Elbow Injury Moderate or Minor (i) | Up to £12,590 |
| Hand Injury (V) | £6,340 to £7,780 |
Special Damages When Claiming For A Workplace Accident
The secondary form of compensation you could receive is special damages. These are awarded to reimburse claimants for financial losses caused by their injuries. These can include:
- Earnings lost from your lack of capacity to work
- Medical expenses such as prescriptions that are required in your recovery
- Care costs.
It is important to retain proof of costs incurred. Examples of evidence for a slip, trip, or fall can include:
- Payslips that show your potential earnings
- Receipts of any prescriptions purchased.
- Invoices of physiotherapy sessions you require to get you back to full health.
If you are still unsure of the type of evidence you could use, speak to our team of advisors.
What Do You Need To Claim For An Accident At Work?
As part of the personal injury claim process, you should provide evidence to prove that your injuries were due to your employer’s negligence. Proving that your employer was negligent could be done by:
- Requesting CCTV footage from the accident of yourself.
- Keeping a diary of your injury to recall how the accident affected your life.
- Requesting your medical records to prove the existence of your injury.
- Photographing your injury and the place your accident took place.
- Asking witnesses for their contact details in case a statement is needed later on.
You can contact our team of advisors today to discover if your case is eligible.
Want To Make A Manual Handling Injury Claim On A No Win No Fee Basis?
We hope this guide to how can manual handling cause slip, trip, and fall injuries has been helpful. To find out if you could claim with an accident at work solicitor on a No Win No Fee basis, call our advisors. But what is claiming with a solicitor on a No Win No Fee basis?
Very often, solicitors that offer to work on your claim on a No Win No Fee basis will do so under a ‘Conditional Fee Agreement‘. This provides the following benefits:
- You would not be required to pay your solicitor any upfront service fees
- No payment for solicitor’s fees would be necessary if your claim was unsuccessful
- Your solicitor would take only a small, legally capped percentage of your compensation as their success fee if your case is successful.
Additionally, our panel of solicitors have vast experience and would only take your case if they thought success was likely. This means you can be confident that your time would be well-spent. Also, not all solicitors work on a No Win No Fee basis, but our panel of solicitors do.
Therefore, if this sounds right for you, contact our team of advisors by:
- Calling us on 0800 408 7825
- Filling in our call back form
- Contacting us using our live chat function on the website
Learn More About Claiming For Slip Trip And Fall Injuries
We hope that this guide has answered “How can manual handling cause slip, trip, and fall injuries?” for you. If you would like further help, you can find more of our articles here:
- How to claim – If you have suffered a manual handling accident in the workplace
- The Process – for manual handling accidents at work claims.
- Head injury – A guide looking at compensation for head injuries
For some external links, look here:
- Health and Safety Executive – Manual Handling At Work
- Gov.UK Statutory Sick Pay
- NHS – A Guide On Broken Bones