Compensation for Manual Handling Injury to Office Worker

Can an employer whose usual tasks do not include lifting and pulling claim compensation for manual handling injury to office worker?

Eoin P. Campbell, LL.B., Solicitor

Editor in Chief

Eoin P. Campbell

It is possible for any employee who has suffered a workplace injury to claim compensation for manual handling injury to office worker, provided that the injury was sustained during the course of their employment and that it was caused as a result of their employer’s negligence.

Lifting or moving any sort of object; be that lifting or moving office computers, office desks and chairs, furniture or even boxes of photocopier paper can cause a manual handling injury to be sustained – or an existing injury to be exacerbated. You may pursue a claim for office worker manual handling injury if it can be proven that the injury would not have occurred had it not been for a breach in your employer’s legal duty of care.

While employers are obligated to provide staff members who are required to perform regular lifting as part of their day to day duties with training on the correct techniques to use, they should make sure that all employees receive training, even those who do not usually perform such tasks. Lifting a heavy load is not the only way for a manual handling injury to be sustained; even moving an office chair for a staff meeting, for example, can be the cause of a severe back injury. A lack of training on correct lifting practices can, therefore, be adequate grounds for claiming injury from manual handling to office worker compensation.

A section of the Safety, Health and Welfare at Work (General Application) Regulations (2007) covers the manual handling of loads, and states that employers are legally responsible for keeping manual handling to the bare minimum. Staff members’ health and safety can be placed at risk when moving and lifting objects so training must be provided to any member of staff before they are allowed to move objects in the workplace. A compensation for manual handling injury to office worker claim may be pursued if it is established that the employer failed to provide adequate training.

It is important that your injury from manual handling to office worker compensation case is thoroughly investigated and professionally prepared by an experienced personal injury claims solicitor in order to maximise the probability of success. Your solicitor would be able to confirm whether your claim for office worker manual handling injury is viable in the initial consultation that most solicitors offer without charge. While compensation for manual handling injury to office worker claims have the potential for being successful, proving negligence in such cases can be complicated and the expert legal advice that given by a solicitor can be invaluable.