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17th June 2008

Compensation For Librarian Injured at Work - No Manual Handling Training Provided

Manual handling training is all too often overlooked or withheld from employees. Whether they regularly need to lift heavy objects, or only occasionally, it is vital that when the situation requires it, they have received the correct manual handling training to allow them to do so without suffering a work related injury. Our client was a librarian and asked for our help in bringing an accident claim for injury at work compensation, against her employer.

Although she did not have cause to lift boxes very often, it was previously made clear that this was included in her duties. On the occasion of the accident at work, she sustained a work injury when she had to move several boxes of books that had been left blocking a drawer to which she needed access.

The boxes weighed between 20 and 25 kgs and as she tried to move a third box, she suffered a manual handling accident, causing injury to her arm and shoulder. In fighting this work injury claim, the defendants denied liability for this accident at work on several points. They claimed that:

library staff did not need manual handling training as they were not required to move boxes on any occasion
our client had not moved any boxes on the day of the accident at work
if she had tested them first, she would have known there was a risk that they were too heavy and should not have moved them
she should have sought assistance from colleagues but chose not to do so
her attendance on a Health and Safety Course with St. John Ambulance, prior to her employment with the library, provided sufficient awareness of manual handling requirements

The Judge however, found that had she tested the boxes, it was likely that she would have suffered the same work injury, ruling out any contributory negligence argued by the defendant. The defendants brought several witnesses to support their arguments that they were not liable for this work related accident. However, under examination, the witnesses admitted that on occasion, they did have to move boxes, and none of them had received manual handing training. He also found that our client was unlikely to have moved the boxes if she had not needed to do so.

Although our client’s symptoms following her injury at work have improved slightly, she has been advised that surgery may be the only option to correct the injury. However, even after surgery, a complete recovery from this work related injury could not be guaranteed. Made redundant by her employer following the work injury, she remains at a disadvantage in the open market.

Finding for our client and our specialist personal injury lawyers, the Judge awarded her over £18,000 in this injury at work compensation claim.

Compensation Claim

Should you decide to instruct us to represent you in your claim, Clear Answers’ lawyers have teams of specialists waiting to help you. We have extensive experience in all types of accident at work claims, whether it was the result of negligence on the part of your employer, or some other cause.

The person responsible for your accident will pay our legal fees, and our service will be cost-free for you. You will receive 100% of your compensation if you select Clear Answers to represent you in this matter.

Our lawyers will be happy to provide you with expert legal advice, talk you through the claims process in plain English and answer any questions you may have regarding your claim. If you or a family member has been injured in these circumstances, please ring us on 0800 783 9019 and speak to one of our advisers. Alternatively, you may prefer to complete one of our on-line compensation claim forms and one of our representatives will contact you as quickly as possible.

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