This week is back care awareness week. This year, the main focus of the week, which is run by the organisation Back Care, is focusing on back care at home. They do, however, state that they will also place some focus on back injury at work.
Types of Back Injury at Work
Back injury at work can occur from doing something you’ve done countless times before or completely out of the blue. Types of back injury include:
- Fractures and breaks
- Disc injuries
- Back strains or sprains
- Ligament and tendon damage
- Nerve damage
- Spinal cord damage
- Lower back injuries
Causes of Back Injury
There are also various causes of back injury. A number of these include back injury at work. However, there are also other causes. These include:
- Repetitive Strain Injury (RSI). This can lead from inadequate training or poor health and safety procedures which have allowed you to continue a dangerous way of doing something, or from having equipment or furniture which positioned incorrectly to suit your needs, causing you to overcompensate physically.
- Lifting something heavy, especially at work. Your employer has a legal duty to ensure that you know the correct procedure for lifting objects and that you have the proper equipment if required.
- Tripping or falling in a public place. Anyone who has slipped on wet floor and landed awkwardly on their coccyx can tell you how painful an injury it can be.
- A road traffic accident (RTA)which leaves you with spinal or muscular damage in your back.
- Falling from a ladder, scaffolding, or platform which has not been secured correctly at work.
Preventing Back Injury at Work
Back injury at work can be common in many workplaces; after all, there are a lot of workplaces in which jobs require lifting. Ensuring you lift correctly can be key to not injuring your back at work. All staff members should be trained on how to lift correctly. This includes full-time, part-time, temporary and agency staff.
Employers should ensure that all their staff have had the correct and adequate training to lift and carry heavy loads. According to the Health and Safety Executive, employers must:
- Avoid work activities that can cause back pain, where reasonably practicable
- Where the activity can’t be avoided, assess it to see what they can do to reduce the risk of back pain
- Apply the control measures they have identified and monitor and review them to make sure they are working
- Consult their workers and, if they have health and safety concerns, do something about them
If your employer fails to do these things, then you may be able to make a claim for a back injury at work.
How We Can Help
Here at The Compensation Experts, we work with solicitors who have years of experience dealing with personal injury claims. This includes back injuries. Contact us today by filling in our contact form. Or call us on 01614138765 to speak to one of our friendly knowledgeable agents.