Advice On Making A Back Injury At Work Claim

Last updated 7th November 2024. If you sustained a back injury at work that was not your fault, you may want to know if you can claim compensation. If so, this guide will explain everything you need to know about how to make a back injury at work claim.

Employers owe you a statutory duty of care under the Health and Safety at Work etc. Act 1974. Therefore, if they breached this duty and their actions caused your injury, you may be able to make a back injury claim. Back injuries caused in the workplace can range from minor tissue injuries to severe spinal injuries. However, they can also lead to time off work, financial losses and a lesser quality of life. Therefore, if your accident at work claim is successful, you may compensated for both your injuries and other losses.

However, to make a back injury at work claim and receive compensation, you must meet the eligibility criteria. This guide will explain everything you need to know about this eligibility criteria and provide examples of what you may be compensated for. It will also explain how you can prove you had a back injury at work, the time limit for such claims and how your compensation will be calculated. Further, it will discuss claims for pre-existing back injuries and how you can claim on a No Win No Fee basis with our panel of solicitors.

For more information on back injury at work claims, contact our helpful team today:

A person from behind with their back pain illustrated in red.

Browse Our Guide

  1. What Is A Back Injury At Work Claim?
  2. How Could Back Injuries Be Caused At Work? 
  3. How Do I Prove I’ve Had A Back Injury At Work?
  4. What Is The Time Limit For Back Injury At Work Claims?
  5. How Is Back Injury Compensation Calculated?
  6. Can I Claim If I Have A Pre-Existing Back Injury? 
  7. How Long Can A Back Injury At Work Claim Take?
  8. Claim For A Back Injury At Work On A No Win No Fee Basis
  9. More Useful Resources About Workplace Injury Claims 

What Is A Back Injury At Work Claim?

Under the Health and Safety at Work etc. Act 1974 (HASAWA), employers owe a duty of care to each of their employees to ensure their health and safety in the workplace. If your employer breached this, causing your injury, you may be eligible to make a back injury at work claim.

All workplaces are different and may have different threats to employees. Therefore, as well as adhering to HASAWA, employers must also adhere to specific regulations to ensure the health and safety of their employees. Some of these include:

Here is the specific criteria for making a back injury at work claim:

  • Your employer must owe you a duty of care.
  • Your employer must have breached this duty.
  • This must have resulted in your back injury.

For more information on back injury claims, or to find out if you are eligible to claim personal injury compensation for an accident at work, contact our team.

A woman with a back ache standing with her hands on her back in an office.

How Could Back Injuries Be Caused At Work? 

It is your employer’s duty to ensure your health and safety at work. However, as each workplace is different, back injuries at work can occur in a myriad of ways.

Here are some examples:

  • No training on machinery. Your employer may have failed to provide training yet, told you to use the forklift truck. If you have done so and did not know how to turn it correctly, it may have been involved in a forklift accident, causing you a spinal disc herniation. Here, you may be eligible to make a back injury at work claim as your employer failed to provide training.
  • No warning signs. Your employer has a duty to ensure the working environment is safe. If there is a spillage on the floor of your office and your employer fails to place a wet floor sign down you may slip or trip. This may cause a spinal vertebral fracture. Here, you may claim for a back injury at work as your employer failed to maintain a safe environment.
  • Manual handling and lifting. Your employer has a duty to ensure you are trained before you manually handle loads. If your employer failed to do this, you may pick up a heavy load whilst in the correct posture. This may result in you sustaining a ligament strain. Here you may be eligible to claim as your employer failed to provide training.
  • No safety checks. Your employer may have failed to complete safety checks on equipment such as a ladder. If you went on the ladder and it was faulty and unsteady, this may cause you to fall from a height and break or fracture your spine. Here, your employer failed to carry out appropriate safety checks and you may be eligible to claim.

Contact our team today to discuss the accident that caused your back injuries at work.

How Do I Prove I’ve Had A Back Injury At Work?

If you want to make a back injury at work claim, then you must prove that it was the negligent conduct of your employer that caused your injury. Without this, you will not meet the eligibility criteria to make a claim.

Here are some examples of how you may do this:

  • Obtain CCTV footage from the accident.
  • Obtain a copy of the accident report book, stating the details of your accident/injury.
  • Obtain evidence of any expenses you made regarding your injury such as: medical bills, travel receipts (to and from hospitals etc.) etc.
  • Take photographs of your injuries and the scene of the accident. It would help if you could see the time on such photographs.
  • Obtain the contact details of any witnesses so they can give a statement further into the claims process.

For more information on how you can prove a back injury at work, contact our team today.

Evidence files to support back injury at work claims.

What Is The Time Limit For Back Injury At Work Claims?

If you are eligible to make a back injury at work claim, you must do so within a specific period of time. In accordance with the Limitation Act 1980, you have from 3 years of the date of the injury to issue a personal injury claim. However, there is an exception to this in some cases. These include:

  • Children’s claims as the 3 year time limit would begin once they reach 18. If you wanted to issue a claim on behalf of a child before their 18th birthday, you may do so by acting as a litigation friend. Here, you would act on behalf of the child and any compensation would be awarded to them once they reach 18.
  • Those without the mental capacity to manage a claim have the time limit indefinitely suspended. You may also act as a litigation friend if the injured person is unable to claim themselves. However, if they recover this capacity, and a claim was not made on their behalf, the time limit starts on the date capacity was regained and runs for three years.

For more information on the time limit for back injury at work claims or litigation friends, contact our team today.

How Is Back Injury Compensation Calculated?

If you are eligible to make a back injury at work claim, you may also be entitled to receive compensation for your injuries and financial losses. This is because your settlement might consist of two heads of loss: general and special damages.

General damages account for the physical pain and psychological suffering sustained in the accident. Those responsible for calculating your general damages may refer to the Judicial College Guidelines (JCG). These guidelines list various injuries in different severity with compensation guidance for each.

The table below contains a few examples of figures that the JCG lists for back injuries. Additionally, the figure we’ve included in the first row was not taken from the JCG. Please note, that as all claims are different, with compensation awarded on different merits, the table is only included as guidance.

InjuryCompensation Guideline
Several Severe and Serious Injuries Plus Special Damages Including Financial LossesUp to £1,000,000+
Severe Back Injuries (i)£111,150 to £196,450
Severe Back Injuries (ii)£90,510 to £107,910
Severe Back Injuries (iii)£47,320 to £85,100
Moderate Back Injuries (i)£33,880 to £47,320
Moderate Back Injuries (ii)£15,260 to £33,880
Minor Back Injuries (i)£9,630 to £15,260
Minor Back Injuries (ii)£5,310 to £9,630
Minor Back Injuries (iii)£2,990 to £5,310
Minor Back Injuries (iv)Up to £2,990

You may also be compensated with special damages, which take into account any financial losses you incurred following the injury. Some examples include:

  • Loss of income. If you took time off work due to your injuries and were not paid for this, you may be awarded this back.
  • Medical expenses. If you had to pay for medical treatment or prescriptions, you may be awarded this back.
  • Travel payments. If you had to travel to or from appointments to treat your injuries or to manage your recovery, you may be awarded this back.
  • Essential equipment and home amendments. Your injury may have required you to adjust your home, such as adding rails and ramps to support you. Therefore, you may be awarded the payments you made for this.

However, you may need to provide evidence of such expenses to claim special damages. Examples of evidence include:

  • Bank statements
  • Payslips
  • Medical bills
  • Receipts

For more information on compensation and a free valuation of your back injury at work claim, contact our team today.

Can I Claim If I Have A Pre-Existing Back Injury? 

If you have a pre-existing back injury that was accelerated at work, you may still be eligible to make a back injury at work claim. In order to do this, you must meet the same criteria for making a back injury at work claim. However, you must also prove that the negligent conduct has accelerated your pre-existing injury.

It is also beneficial to have an independent medical assessment during the claims process. This would help to establish the nature of the injury and how it has impacted your pre-existing back injury.

For more information on claiming for pre-existing back injuries, contact our team today.

How Long Can A Back Injury At Work Claim Take? 

There is no specific timeframe for how long a back injury at work can take. This is because each injury and accident is different. Depending on the nature of your claim, back injury at work claims can range from a few months to a few years.

Some factors that determine the length of your claim include:

  • The extent of your injuries.
  • How much time your recovery is expected to take.
  • The time it takes to gather evidence.
  • The time it takes for the opposing party to admit liability.

For more information on the time frame of back injuries sustained at work claims, contact our advisors today.

Claim For A Back Injury At Work On A No Win No Fee Basis

If you have an eligible back injury at work claim, one of the solicitors from our panel can help you by:

  • Gathering your evidence.
  • Corresponding with the defendant.
  • Explaining legal terminology.
  • Making sure the compensation is fairly valued.
  • Making sure the claim is started within the limitation period.
  • Updating you regularly on the claims process.
  • Managing the case if it goes to court.

They can do all of this for you under a No Win No Fee agreement. Specifically, a Conditional Fee Agreement (CFA).

By working with a solicitor from our panel under a CFA, you won’t pay for your solicitor’s work:

  • Before the claims process begins.
  • Throughout the whole claims process.
  • If you’re unsuccessful.
  • Instead, if your claim for a back injury at work is successful, your solicitor can take a legally limited percentage of your compensation. This limited percentage is called the success fee.

So, if you’ve suffered a back injury at work, contact us to confirm whether you’re eligible for compensation. If you are, one of the specialist solicitors from our panel could help you and work with you under this type of agreement.

A solicitor explains a No Win No Fee agreement to a client.

More Useful Resources About Workplace Injury Claims 

Here is access to further information on accident at work claims:

References:

Thank you for taking the time to read this guide. If you have any further questing about starting a back injury at work claim, please get in touch today.