Are you wondering how much compensation for a manual handling injury could be owed to you? Workplaces that require employees to move things by bodily force need to meet certain duties of care to minimise the risk of injury at work. So, if you feel the essential health and safety precautions were not met, and you suffered harm manually moving something, this guide is packed with free guidance and information about making a personal injury claim.
We start by explaining who can make manual handling injury claims based on a breach of duty of care. After this, we give some instances of how a manual handling accident could occur because of employer negligence. In addition to this, we explain what useful evidence might bolster your claim.
To close the guide, we lay out the numerous benefits of working with a solicitor from our panel. They can offer eligible claimants a type of No Win No Fee agreement to launch their personal injury claim. Why not see if they could help you?
Either read on or connect with advisors. They are happy to answer questions about the personal injury claims process and can also offer you a free case check on the strength of your claim. Simply start the conversation by:
- Contacting the team through our website
- Ringing us on 0800 408 7826
- Or by using the live chat function on this page
Jump To A Section
- How Much Compensation For A Manual Handling Injury?
- Can You Make A Manual Handling Injury Claim?
- How Could A Manual Handling Injury Be Caused By Employer Negligence?
- Evidence That Could Help In A Workplace Accident Claim
- Make A Manual Handling Injury Claim On A No Win No Fee Basis
- Learn More About Making Personal Injury Claims
How Much Compensation For A Manual Handling Injury?
A successful compensation award can include two heads of loss. The main one is called general damages, which compensate the claimant for the physical and psychological injuries suffered. General damages may also reflect how long the recovery is expected to be and what long-term health impacts were caused.
Those who calculate this head of loss can use medical reports to guide their calculations. They may also refer to publications such as the Judicial College Guidelines (JCG). This publication lists guideline bracket amounts for a variety of injuries based on severity. Below is an excerpt from the JCG for injuries that may commonly be associated with manual handling injuries. Please not that the first entry does not come from the JCG:
Compensation Guidelines
| INJURY | SEVERITY | AWARD GUIDELINES | NOTES |
|---|---|---|---|
| Multiple Forms of Severe Injury and Special Damages | Severe | Up to £1 million plus. | Awards of this size reflect multiple severe injuries and special damage amounts for lost earnings, medical costs and care needs. |
| Back | (a) Severe (i) | £111,150 to £196,450 | The most severe type of nerve root and spinal cord damage causing incomplete paralysis and bowel/bladder problems. |
| (b) Moderate (i) | £33,880 to £47,320 | Cases including compression/crush injuries in the lumbar vertebrae and a substantial risk of osteoarthritis and constant pain. | |
| (c) Minor (i) | £9,630 to £15,260 | Where a full recovery or to nuisance level takes place without the need for surgery within 2 - 5 years. | |
| Hands | (b) Serious Damage to Both Hands | £68,070 to £103,200 | Injuries that create a permanent level of cosmetic disability and function loss. |
| (f) Severe fractures to fingers | Up to £44,840 | Instances that may lead to partial amputations and cause impaired grip, loss of function, disturbed sensation and deformity. | |
| Wrist | (a) Total Function Loss | £58,110 to £73,050 | Cases where the use of the wrist is completely lost even after corrective surgey. |
| Arm | (b) Injuries Resulting in Permanent and Substantial Disablement | £47,810 to £73,050 | Serious fractures impacting one (or both) forearms and causing significant permanent residual disability. |
| Pelvis | (b) Moderate (i) | £32,450 to £47,810 | A significant injury to the hip or pelvis but no major permanent disability and future risk of such is not considered great. |
| Knee | (b) Moderate (i) | £18,110 to £31,960 | Cases of torn meniscus, cartilage and dislocations which cause wasting, weakness and mild disability in the future. |
Additionally, you can also use our compensation calculator to help give you a better idea of how much you may receive for your particular injury.
Can I Claim For Loss of Earnings Caused By A Manual Handling Injury?
The second amount that makes up compensation can be special damages. These reimburse the claimant for financial harm caused by the injuries. It is necessary to have documented evidence of these losses. Also, special damages must be claimed alongside general damages, and cannot be claimed on their own.
There can be various types of financial loss associated with injury. Some examples of these and what evidence you could present to prove them include:
- Wage slips that indicate a loss of earnings from work absence.
- The receipts or invoices for anyone who needed to care for you.
- Medical expenses and estimates for predicted treatments (such as future physiotherapy).
- Travel tickets and receipts for essential journeys.
There may be other amounts that are valid for inclusion. Speak to our advisors to learn more about special and general damages. They can appraise your claim over the phone and if it’s eligible, connect you with a personal injury solicitor to help if you wish.
Can You Make A Manual Handling Injury Claim?
Now that we have shared how much compensation for a manual handling injury you could potentially receive, you will also need to know when you have a valid claim.
You could make a manual handling injury claim if you can show that your employer failed to meet their duty of care to you. This duty is laid out in the Health and Safety at Work etc Act 1974 (HASAWA). Among other obligations, employers need to take practicable and reasonable steps to ensure that employees are prevented from the risk of harm as they do their jobs. Some ways that an employer can achieve this are:
- To ensure their work environment is as free from risks and hazards as possible.
- Provide essential personal protective equipment (PPE) as needed.
- Make sure that staff are fully trained and aware of health and safety guidelines.
In particular, the Manual Handling Operations Regulations 1992 states that employers need to do the following:
- Assess the level of risk for each worker when being asked to move items heavy or large items.
- Regularly check the weight and size of the object before allocating it to a particular staff member. (This is because individual strengths vary from person to person).
- Ensure that staff understand correct bending and lifting techniques as detailed by the Health and Safety Executive (HSE), which regulates UK workplace safety.
- Provide workers with the correct tools and equipment to lift and navigate heavy objects as required.
With this in mind, a compensation claim for manual handling injury could apply if you meet the following criteria:
- A duty of care was in place at the moment of injury.
- The employer failed to adhere to their duty of care.
- Because of this, you suffered an injury.
The team can answer any questions you may have, such as ‘Do I haven an eligible accident at work claim?’.
How Could A Manual Handling Injury Be Caused By Employer Negligence?
Next, we look at some scenarios where employer negligence could give rise to a manual handling injury:
- The employer fails to train staff in the appropriate ways to bend, lift and carry items. As a consequence, a worker pulls a ligament and suffers a back injury.
- Workers were not supplied with the correct personal protective equipment (PPE) to move heavy items. This resulted in a broken wrist injury after a worker tried to move objects without support.
- A member of staff who was not assessed appropriately to move heavy items suffered a crushed ankle and foot injury when they dropped an awkward or overly heavy item.
There may be other scenarios that lead to a manual handling injury. To discuss your specific case and see whether you could make a compensation claim, you can contact our advisors.
Evidence That Could Help In A Workplace Accident Claim
It’s important to present evidence that shows how a breach in the duty of care owed to you caused your manual handling injuries. To do this, you can gather some of the following:
- Photos of the injuries and the object that injured you, including any labels or markings indicating weight and size.
- The contact information for anyone who saw the accident. If you choose to use the services of a personal injury solicitor, they can obtain a supporting statement from these people later.
- See if there is any workplace CCTV footage that captured the incident.
- Get copies of your medical records from your GP, the admission notes from A&E or reports from any specialists that needed to treat you.
- A copy of the report made in the workplace accident book.
Whatever evidence you collect, it must show how your injuries were the result of employer negligence. One of the solicitors on our panel could help you with gathering evidence. To see if they could help you, contact our advisors today.
Make A Manual Handling Injury Claim On A No Win No Fee Basis
The solicitors on our panel can offer excellent legal representation through a version of a No Win No Fee contract. They offer a Conditional Fee Agreement (CFA), which typically means that there is no need to pay upfront fees for the solicitor to start work on your case. Also, there are usually no fees for their services as the claim moves ahead. No fees apply for the solicitor’s completed services if the claim is unsuccessful.
Should your manual handling claim be successful, the solicitors deduct a legally restricted percentage from the compensation awarded to you. This is called a success fee. Because of this limit, you can be confident that you will always receive the bulk of the compensation.
To see whether one of the solicitors featured on our panel could help you with claiming compensation, or to ask questions such as ‘How much compensation for a manual handling injury could I receive?’, you can contact our advisory team:
- Contact an advisor through our website
- Call us on 0800 408 7826
- Or use the live chat function on this page.
Learn More About Making Personal Injury Claims
You may find the following resources from our website useful as well:
- Read about claiming compensation for slipping on a wet floor in this guide.
- Learn when hand injury claims could be made for various accidents.
- Advice on claiming for a broken arm after an accident that was not your fault.
External resources:
- Read more information about recommended manual handling guidance from the Health and Safety Executive (HSE).
- Also, read about back pain causes and treatments from the NHS.
- Lastly, this guide explores employers’ responsibilities from GOV.UK.
Thank you for reading our guide on, ‘How much compensation for a manual handling injury?’. To discuss your case today and receive a free valuation of your potential compensation, you can contact our advisors.