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Cumulative Back Injuries

All employers are legally required to protect your health and safety in the workplace. In jobs where heavy lifting, prolonged sitting and manual handling are involved, employers must take particular care to protect or control any risk of back injuries, performing risk assessments and implementing safety measures to reduce or remove potential dangers.

What has caused my back injury?

As back injuries often come on over time it can be difficult to pin point the exact cause and therefore whether the injury is a result of an employer’s negligence.

In our experience, at Harwood Solicitors, the three most common causes of back injuries are posture, repetitive movement and one off incidents.

Repetitive Movements

 

Repetitive strain injury (RSI) is related to the overuse of muscles and tendons in the upper body, especially the hands, wrists, forearms, elbows, shoulders, back or neck.

Repetitive Strain Injurys is most commonly caused by a repeated action carried out on a daily basis. When a task is repetitive, it can cause an area of the back to strain, such as the neck (cervical area), shoulder or the lumbar spine, and also lead to a repeating strain injury, The condition can depend on how a lift or movement is performed , the training given and the persons strength and size.

A variety of jobs can lead to Repetitive Strain Injurys, such as:

  • assembly line work
  • supermarket checkout
  • rapid packing
  • food processing
  • typing at a computer.

To speak to one our experienced advisors about your claim call 01254 505090 or complete an online enquiry form and we will call you.

Posture

If you have to work in an unnatural or particularly uncomfortable position for an extended period of time then this can cause a back injury. An example of this would be if you have not had a work station assessment, your seat does not provide appropriate support and has therefore affected your back then you could have a claim. If you have made a complaint but this has gone ignored then Harwood could help you pursue a claim. Other examples would be if you are stood up all day at work without rest breaks and somewhere to sit or, if you are stooped over all day and this leads to a complaint that is not rectified then again Harwood could pursue a back injury claim on your behalf.

Isolated Incident/One Off Accidents

An incident of this nature can happen in any line of work. If you have suffered a back injury as a result of a one off accident or individual task suck as heavy lifting then your employer may be responsible for your condition. If you have not received any training or inadequate training and other safety measures are not in place then we can potentially make a claim.

Employers should protect their employees from dangers in the work place. If they have not complied with their duty of care then Harwood and our experienced Industrial Disease team can help.