WORK RELATED BACK INJURIES

Thousands of people every year suffer from back injuries that have been caused by their occupation. With back problems being a common issue for many people it can often be hard to identify how the injury has happened and if it is work related.

What Has Caused My Back Injury?

We often find that the three most common types of back injuries from work stem from the following:

Repetition:

These injuries tend to occur during repetitive manual handling in warehouses, factories and production lines. When a task is repetitive, it can cause an area of the back to strain, such as the neck, shoulder or the lumbar spine, and also lead to a repetitive strain injury. The condition can depend on how a lift or movement is performed, the training given and the individual’s strength and size. They can be caused by weights which aren’t considerable; we have acted for people who have lifted in excess of 10kg at work, and for others who have lifted over 40kg.

Posture:

These back injuries are typically caused when an employee has to work in unnatural position for a long period of time. If your seat or posture has affected your back, and you have made a complaint to a senior person, line manager or boss that has gone ignored, we can help you pursue a back injury claim.

Isolated Accident:

These one-off incidents can take place in any line of work. If your back injury has been caused by an individual task, such as lifting a heavy weight, and you received no or inadequate manual handling training, your employer may be to blame for your condition. If your employer has failed to protect you from workplace dangers, which has led to you suffering from a back condition, our solicitors will be dedicated to creating a strong back injury claim proving that they are to blame for your injury.

What are my legal rights?

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.

Symptoms of a Work Related Back Injury

Work related back injuries can affect all different areas of the back; it can affect the whole back or a specific area. Below we have detailed some of the specific problem areas that are an indication of a back injury caused by occupation.

 Upper/Middle Back Pain:

The area affected here starts from the rib cage up to the top of the spine, this area is called the thoaric spine. Pain in this area is much different from lower back pain due to it possibly affecting both arms and hands. The pain is more of a numbness or swelling of the upper back pain which is due to the bones being more fixed and stronger than the lower back.

Lower Back Pain:

Lower back pain is commonly found from the rib cage down to the bottom of the spine, however it is not rare for the pain to travel to the top of the legs in the thigh/buttock region. Lower back pain sufferers often complain of a more sharp pain, this is due to the nature of the injury in which for example a disc might have slipped or a muscle twisted.

Legal guidance and support for a work related back injury

When managing back injury cases our panel of Solicitors always put the needs of their client first. We also aim to keep the process simple and straightforward, and pride ourselves on treating each client as an individual to ensure that every case is handled in a sensitive and honest manner.

Once our panel solicitors have gathered enough background information, they will start to put together a strong case on your behalf. During this time, they will liaise with medical experts, speak to witnesses and utilise the health and safety regulations to create the strongest possible case against the responsible party. They may also ask you to attend a medical assessment, as these records can prove particularly valuable during back injury claims.