Can Slip, Trip And Fall Injuries Be Caused By Manual Handling Accidents?

This guide will look to answer the question, “how can manual handling cause slip, trip, and fall injuries?”. We will examine under what circumstances workplace accidents could be caused by manual handling and how this could be caused by employer negligence.

How can manual handling cause slip trip and fall injuries?

Additionally, this guide will outline some of the evidence that you can use to support your personal injury claim. We will also look at how a settlement in a successful claim could be reached and the factors that might impact it. 

To conclude, we will discuss the benefits of appointing a solicitor on a No Win No Fee basis, should you wish to have legal representation. To see if you could be connected with a solicitor on our panel, contact our team of advisors by:

Choose A Section

  1. Can Slip, Trip And Fall Injuries Be Caused By Manual Handling Accidents?
  2. How Can A Manual Handling Injury Be The Result Of Employer Negligence?
  3. Evidence That Could Help You In Slip Trip And Fall Claims
  4. What Amount Of Accident At Work Compensation Could You Receive?
  5. Claim For Slip Trip And Fall Injuries On A No Win No Fee Basis
  6. How Can Manual Handling Cause Slip, Trip And Fall Injuries? – Read More Below 

Can Slip, Trip And Fall Injuries Be Caused By Manual Handling Accidents?

To claim for an injury in the workplace, you must prove that employer negligence caused your manual handling injuries. The Health and Safety at Work etc. Act 1974 (HASAWA) states that employers must take all reasonable and practicable steps to keep you safe. 

To prove employer negligence, you must be able to show:

  1. That your employer owed you a duty of care
  2. That your employer breached this duty of care
  3. You suffered injuries as a result of your employer’s breach

Your employer may ask you to undertake manual handling tasks as part of your role. If so, they are legally obligated to adhere to The Manual Handling Operations Regulations 1992 (TMHOR). Section 4(b)(ii) of TMHOR outlines that employers must take appropriate steps to minimise injury risk if manual handling tasks cannot be avoided. 

The Health and Safety Executive (HSE), Britain’s workplace health and safety regulator, provides manual handling guidelines that employers could use to reduce the risk of injury. The HSE discusses that when an employer asks you to do manual handling at work, they should consider the following:

  • The working environment
  • Your capabilities and the nature of the load
  • Training that could help you complete the task safely

However, if your employer fails to consider the above, you may be involved in a workplace accident. If this occurs and you would like to see if you have grounds to claim, why not get in touch with our team? 

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

You may be wondering how manual handling can cause slip, trip, and fall injuries. We provide some examples below; however, if your circumstances vary, then get in touch with our team to see if you could have a valid claim. 

One example might be that you slipped while carrying a box along a wet floor without warning signs, resulting in a head and mouth injury. If a wet floor is not signposted in a reasonable time, this could be an example of a breach of duty of care. 

A further example could be that your employer knowingly asked you to carry something alone that stated it required two people to carry. Due to the load’s weight and awkwardness, you couldn’t adopt a good handling technique, which resulted in you falling over and sustaining a back injury and an elbow injury. 

Call our team of advisors for a free case assessment if you’ve suffered slip, trip, and fall injuries caused by manual handling at work.

Evidence That Could Help You In Slip Trip And Fall Claims

If you have sustained an injury in a workplace accident, you should seek medical attention. This way, you will receive the necessary treatment; this could also generate medical records that may be useful as evidence in your personal injury claim. You can gain further evidence by:

  • Requesting CCTV footage of yourself that shows the accident happening 
  • Asking witnesses for their contact details, so they can be contacted for a statement at a later date
  • Taking photographs of the accident site and your injuries

Evidence could be useful, as it can highlight the hazards that caused the accident to help prove employer negligence. You can also use it to show how badly you were impacted by your injuries. Contact our team of advisors now to find out if one of the solicitors from our panel could work with you and help gather evidence for your accident at work claim. 

What Amount Of Accident At Work Compensation Could You Receive?

Two heads of claim can be awarded in successful personal injury case settlements. The first is general damages, which compensate you for the pain and suffering you have experienced because of your injuries. The amount awarded would depend upon several factors, including:

  • How severe your injuries are
  • How your injuries have impacted your quality of life
  • The total time it takes you to recover

The Judicial College Guidelines (JCG) might be used to help assign a value to your injuries. The JCG act as a starting point and provides valuation brackets for different types and severities of injuries. Medical reports could also be compared with the JCG to value your injuries. 

Although we cannot guarantee the amount you’d receive, as all cases differ, the table below shows brackets provided by the JCG for some injuries. 

Compensation Table

InjurySeverityCompensationNotes
BackSevere (i)£91,090 to £160,980Spinal cord and nerve root damage, resulting in severe back pain and disability.
Severe (iii)£38,780 to £69,730Disc lesions or fractures or soft tissue damage, leading to chronic conditions. Despite treatment, some disability remains.
NeckSevere (ii)£65,740 to £130,930Serious fractures or damage within the cervical spine, leading to considerably severe disability.
Moderate (ii)£13,740 to £24,990Soft tissue damage and disc lesions, resulting in significantly limited movement, permanent or recurring pain and the potential need for further surgery.
Pelvis and HipsSevere (ii)£61,910 to £78,400Can include fracture dislocation of the pelvis or traumatic myositis ossificans regarding bones around the hip.
Moderate (i)£26,590 to £39,170Significant injury but with only minor permanent disability or future risk.
ShoulderSevere£19,200 to £48,030Associated with neck injuries and nerve damage. Will result in significant disability.
Serious£12,770 to £19,200Dislocation of shoulder, causing neck and shoulder pain, with some sensory symptoms in arm and forearm.
Wrist(b) Significant £24,500 to £39,170Some useful movements remain but considerable permanent disability.
(c) Less Severe £12,590 to £24,500Some permanent disability, with persisting pain and stiffness.

Special Damages In A Workplace Accident Claim

In addition to general damages, you could also receive special damages, which compensate you for the past and future reasonable costs you incur because of your injury. If you hurt yourself because you fall over due to manual handling, you may:

  • Be unable to work and miss out on your salary
  • Have to take back pain medication to help you recover, which you need to pay for
  • Be unable to drive and have to take public transport

In such scenarios, you could recover your losses. To ensure you’re fully compensated for these costs, consider supplying evidence like:

  • Your payslips
  • Medical care receipts
  • Bus tickets or taxi receipts 

A solicitor on our panel could help you build an evidence portfolio to support your work injury claim. To check the validity of your case and to see whether you could work with one, call our advisors now. They can also discuss the question, “how can manual handling cause slip trip and fall injuries?”. 

Claim For Slip Trip And Fall Injuries On A No Win No Fee Basis

Instructing a solicitor could provide you with expert advice and guidance throughout the claims process. Our panel of personal injury solicitors offers their services on a No Win No Fee basis. The specific kind of No Win No Fee agreement they offer is called a Conditional Fee Agreement, and working with a solicitor this way would mean that:

  • You wouldn’t have to pay any upfront fees to begin working with them
  • There would be no legal fees to keep the case moving forward
  • If your claim failed, you wouldn’t have to pay the solicitor for the service they had provided
  • If you were to be awarded compensation, your solicitor would take a small percentage of your compensation, which is called a success fee and is legally capped

Additionally, our panel of No Win No Fee solicitors have years of experience and only work on claims they believe have a good chance of success. To find out if you’re eligible to make a personal injury claim, contact one of our advisors by:

How Can Manual Handling Cause Slip, Trip And Fall Injuries? – Read More Below

We hope this guide has answered the question, “How can manual handling cause slip, trip, and fall injuries?”. For more useful guides from us, check out those linked below:

If you would like some external resources, please look below:

Writer Will Grey

Publisher Fern Stringer