Work Injury - Any Entitlement?

berrya1

My friend currently has a soar back after bending down to open a safe at work. He is finding it VERY difficult to move and has had to phone in sick. He doesn't get paid for being off sick.

Is there anything he can do or be entitled too?

Googlewhacker

do you mean benefits and how high is he soaring

berrya1

I don't specifically mean anything relating to benefits but more within the workplace. At present he feels let down that the injury was caused due within the workplace but he now has to take time off because of it without pay.

I don't know the extent of the back issue but at present this his 2nd day he has been confined to bed due to lack of movement.

Lazy if you ask me! ;-)

More seriously though, what would you advise as a course of action? I have advised speaking to the doctor, plus recording the accident at work in their health and saftey log when he returns but is there anything else he could/need to do? Plus if this continues to be an issue is there anything else he could do?

Cheers

dawnybabes

Unless he was lifting the safe - I am unsure how it is the employers fault ?

The last time I had a bad back (was many years ago) I was told bed rest was the worse thing for it - it used to be ?

stephyt23

First of all how is it the employer's fault? Has he been to the doctor? What did they say? If all he was doing was bending down to open a safe then sounds like he's just pulled a muscle, certainly can't sue the employer.

I injured my back when I was 18 at work through having no manual handling training. I was off for 6 weeks and it turned out I'd torn a disc so could make a claim. I'm now 24, still have the back problem, it will never heal. I made a claim and won but I had a genuine case to claim.

Would there be any reason he doesn't get sick pay? I thought that was a statutory thing?

berrya1

That’s mainly what I was wanting to investigate and need to see his contract. But he was told he doesn't get sick pay. If he is off he is off with no pay.

I NEVER said nor implied it was the employer's fault he is off ill. However, I thought he was entitled to something such as sick pay, thus my question… Any help on if this is a statutory right would be helpful.

stephyt23

I've also just spotted you put about him reporting it in the accident book when he returns to work. Does this mean nothing has been reported? It should have been put in straight a way. If he was to feel the employer let him down he'd have no proof if it's not already in the accident book.

zzzLazyDaisy

He will get SSP if he meets the criteria. More info here...

http://www.direct.gov.uk/en/MoneyTaxAndBenefits/BenefitsTaxCreditsAndOtherSupport/Illorinjured/DG_10018786

dickydonkin

stephyt23 wrote: »

First of all how is it the employer's fault? Has he been to the doctor? What did they say? If all he was doing was bending down to open a safe then sounds like he's just pulled a muscle, certainly can't sue the employer.

Playing devil’s advocate here - but if the safe is located in an area which is difficult to access or is obstructed, then there could be a situation where the employer has not provided suitable access to the safe which may have contributed to the incident.

The likelihood is that the safe was probably in a suitable location and the injured person has pulled a muscle or possibly pulling on a heavy door while stooping has caused the problem.

It happens - I suspect the most innocuous action has caused most of us a back injury in the past.

As an aside, as the OP did state that the injured person had been in bed for two days, it will be likely that s/he will have sustained an over 3 day injury which is required by RIDDOR to be reported and even though the cause of the injury has not been determined if it is work related, it may be prudent for the employer to report it anyway.

ohreally

stephyt23 wrote: »

First of all how is it the employer's fault?

Three conditions require to be satisfied.

Was there a duty of care owed in the course of employment - yes.

Was the incident reasonably foreseeable - this is the $64k question.

To say

stephyt23 wrote: »

certainly can't sue the employer

is perhaps a little rash.

The safe presents a hazard, (it has the potential to cause harm) - was the risk assessed?

If the safe is poorly located;
If there is a history of other employees being injured;
Did the employee have a pre-existing condition (if so was a manual handling assessment completed?).

dickydonkin

ohreally wrote: »

Three conditions require to be satisfied.

Was there a duty of care owed in the course of employment - yes.

Was the incident reasonably foreseeable - this is the $64k question.

To say is perhaps a little rash.

The safe presents a hazard, (it has the potential to cause harm) - was the risk assessed?

If the safe is poorly located;
If there is a history of other employees being injured;
Did the employee have a pre-existing condition (if so was a manual handling assessment completed?).

It is unlikely that the safe itself presented a risk of harm by virtue of it being a fixed item of equipment, having no powered, moving or rotating components, no source of energy and if the access to the safe was unobstructed, little risk of slips, trips or impact and as such, would be difficult to prove negligence in the case of the OP's friend - a key component in obtaining compensation for personal injury - although I appreciate that this is not the OP's friends goal.

I would suggest the biggest risk of harm to workers where a safe is involved would be intruders with intention of robbery rather than an individual hurting their back when bending down to access it or as someone has suggested when lifting it (installation or removal etc.)

The OP's friend could just have easily sustained the same injury bending down for a dropped pencil - does that mean the use of a pencil needs to be risk assessed? Of course not.

Control measures need to be proportionate to the risks and in the case of a safe, if a risk assessment was carried out on a safe located on the floor, (as suggested earlier) would it be reasonably practicable to recommend that the safe be raised to a more suitable level to avoid anyone requiring access to it from bending down occasionally?

If anyone believes the answer to that is yes, then that would mean every lower drawer in an office desk would need to be raised, every electrical socket would need to be raised, emptying a waste paper basket which requires occasional bending down would also need to be assessed as they all pose the same (insignificant IMO) risk as bending down to access a safe .....all of which can technically cause a sprain/strain when stooping, but so can many routine actions carried out during the day at work and indeed at home. It can go on and on and get silly - a line has to be drawn.

As for manual handling training, then yes, every employer should have undergone a manual handling awareness course as a minimum.

Staff performing higher risk manual handling activities should ideally have task/job specific manual handling training.

The OP's friend may also have had an underlying or pre - existing condition which also may have contributed to the injury.

Try this one which actually happened on my watch.

An employee was having his tea break in the rest room when he leaned over to place his cup back on the table and he just started screaming in agony.

His shoulder actually dislocated when placing the cup back on the table.

I had to ask myself is this reportable under RIDDOR?
What else should I consider?

1) YES because a dislocated shoulder is classed under the regulations as a major injury and as such has to be reported.

2) YES because the injured lad was off work for more than three days.

3) NO because even though he was at work, his injury was not caused by faulty work equipment, unsafe processes/procedures etc. and no work related activity was being carried out at the time.

I actually contacted the HSE for clarification and despite the injury being technically reportable on two counts, having explained the situation, I was informed it was not necessary to proceed with the report.

It would seem that the injured person had a weakness in the shoulder, but the situation would have been completely different had the same injury occurred during a working activity.

This would have involved a RIDDOR report, an internal accident investigation and report, amended risk assessments etc. etc. and having to determine if the activity caused the injury or there was an underlying problem - not to mention my time and effort and company costs.

A real pain for everyone involved!