No Win No Fee Manual Handling Claims

This guide discusses how to begin No Win No Fee manual handling claims at work. If you have suffered an injury because your employer breached the duty of care they owed you, we offer free guidance on putting forward a personal injury claim.

manual handling claims

Manual handling claims guide

This guide looks at how a breach of health and safety practices at work can cause accidental injury. In addition, we discuss what sort of evidence might support your claim and the different heads of claim that could be awarded if it is successful.

This guide will also address the benefits of working with a No Win No Fee solicitor from our panel. Please read the sections below. But if you would like to know if you are eligible to make a work injury claim right now, you can contact us in the following ways:

Browse Our Guide

  1. Manual Handling Claims – When Are You Able To Make One?
  2. How Could A Manual Handling Injury Be The Result Of Employer Negligence?
  3. Accident At Work Compensation You Could Receive
  4. How To Make A Work Injury Claim
  5. Sue Your Employer For Negligence On A No Win No Fee Basis
  6. Read More About Manual Handling Claims

Manual Handling Claims – When Are You Able To Make One?

You may be eligible to start a manual handling claim for injury at work if you can fulfil three important criteria:

  • You were owed a duty of care from your employer at the time and place of injury
  • Your employer breached that duty
  • You are able to demonstrate how this caused you harm. Together these points form the definition of employer negligence.

Duty of care is a legal requirement outlined in the Health and Safety at Work etc Act 1974 (HASAWA). Employers have to take steps considered practicable and reasonable to prevent injuries to employees. For example, an employer is expected to maintain good housekeeping and provide the appropriate training to their employees.

If you would like to know whether you have grounds to pursue a claim, speak with a member of our team today.

How Could A Manual Handling Injury Be The Result Of Employer Negligence?

Manual handling involves transporting or supporting a load by hand or bodily force. The Health and Safety Executive (HSE) is the regulator for workplace health and safety in Britain and provides specific guidance on manual handling procedures at work.

The HSE offers a number of measures for employers to follow in relation to manual handling. For example, it gives guideline weight restrictions and advice on when a hazardous manual handling task should be avoided.

Manual handling could cause injuries in the following ways:

  • You are tasked to lift something that is too heavy to safely do alone. As a result, you slip a disc in your back.
  • You undergo a task where you have to use a lifting trolley but the handle is in a poor state of repair. As a result, you suffer from a hand injury.
  • You are struck by a moving object that falls from a lifting trolley you are using because it was poorly stacked. You sustain a skull fracture.
  • A slip, trip or fall occurs because you have not been given the right manual handling training,

Not every manual handling injury at work is automatically the employer’s fault. To establish liability in your case, please speak to our team using the contact details above.

Accident At Work Compensation You Could Receive

Successful manual handling claims can be made up of two forms of damages. Firstly, general damages are amounts that aim to compensate you for the pain, suffering and loss of amenity caused to you.

The medical evidence of your injury can be compared with injuries listed in a publication called the Judicial College Guidelines (JCG). It lists award brackets that can be used to help when valuing certain injuries. Below, we have included an excerpt of this publication for your reference:

Award Brackets

Body Part SeverityAward BracketNotes
Head(c) Moderate (i)£150,110 to £219,070Cases that cause a moderate to severe intellectual deficit or an alteration on sight, speech, and senses with a significantly increased risk of epilepsy, and no employment prospects.
Arm(a) Severe Injuries£96,160 to £130,930Injuries that do not require amputation but mean the individual is left just as disabled if it were.
Arm(c) Less Severe Injury£19,200 to £39,170Despite significant disability, a substantial level of recovery is expected, or will have taken place.
Hand(c) Total or Effective Loss of One Hand£96,160 to £109,650Crush injuries that meant surgical amputation was required or cases where fingers and part of the palm were traumatically amputated.
Hand(g) Less Serious Hand Injury£14,450 to £29,000Severe crush injuries that result in a significant level of impairment without surgery or despite treatments undergone.
Back(b) Moderate (iii) £38,780 to £69,730Disc lesions or fractures of the discs as well as soft tissue injuries that create chronic conditions.
Back(b) Moderate (ii)£12,510 to £27,760Disturbed ligaments and muscles that cause backache and acceleration and/or exacerbation of a pre-existing back condition.
Wrist(b) Wrist Injuries£24,500 to £39,170Injury which causes significant permanent disability. However, some useful wrist movement remains.
Wrist(c) Wrist Injuries£12,590 to £24,500Less severe injuries that still result in some permanent disability such as persisting pain and stiffness.
Shoulder(b) Serious£12,770 to £19,200Dislocations and nerve damage to the brachial plexus causing sensory symptoms in the forearm and hand. Weak grip and restricted movement caused.

Claiming For Financial Losses In A Work Injury Claim

The second head of claim that can apply in manual handling claims is special damages. After an injury at work, you might experience financial losses in addition to the physical and/or psychological harm you were caused. These could be compensated through special damages. This head of a claim could cover:

  • A loss of earnings
  • Medical costs
  • Travel expenses
  • Costs for essential adaptations to your home or vehicle
  • Domestic care costs.

Our team can explain how a solicitor from our panel can help you collect evidence like this. Please get in touch on the number above to see if you’re eligible to work with them.

How To Make A Work Injury Claim

Manual handling claims can be supported through evidence. Below we have listed some of the things you can do to obtain proof in support of your claim:

  • Request CCTV footage of the accident if possible
  • Keep a diary that illustrates your mental state and the treatments needed
  • Get copies of medical records such as X-rays and prescriptions
  • Take photographs of the injuries and hazards
  • Gather the contact details of any witnesses who can give a statement at a later date

Our team are happy to offer assistance if you get in touch with the contact details above. If you do have a valid claim, you could be connected with a No Win No Fee lawyer from our panel.

Sue Your Employer For Negligence On A No Win No Fee Basis

We could put you in touch with a solicitor to help start a No Win No Fee accident claim. They might offer a Conditional Fee Agreement (CFA) as a way to begin your manual handling claim; this is a kind of No Win No Fee agreement. It provides several advantages, such as:

  • No upfront fees are required for their services
  • No fees are typically needed for ongoing work
  • If the claim is unsuccessful, the solicitors ask for no fee for work completed on your case
  • A successful claim outcome requires only a small amount to be deducted from the overall compensation award. This percentage is subject to a legislative cap.

To learn more about whether you could be eligible to start a manual handling claim with a solicitor from our panel, get in touch with our advisors. As well as a free eligibility assessment, they could then connect you directly with a skilled personal injury expert to get started. To find out more for free and with no obligation to continue, you can:

Read More About Manual Handling Claims

In addition to this guide on manual handling claims, below are some other helpful resources from our website:

In conclusion, the following links offer more reading to help:

Writer Jeff Wallow

Publisher Fern Stringer