Fell down stairs at work

BobQ

wapow wrote: »

Please claim????

So that we can luagh when you fail!

ahahahahahahaa!

If the OP was told by a manager to use the defective rucksack and they could not prove they had assessed the risks you might be surprised who would be laughing at the end of the process. (We do not know the actual situation of course)

I dealt with a case in which a manager (stupidly) told someone to carry rigid boxes up some concrete steps, despite the individual suggesting in front of an independent witness that they went and got a specialist trolley that went up steps. He subsequently tripped over on the stairs and cut three tendons in his hand. He was off work for 10 weeks, the firm had all the expenses of managers investigating the situation and their lawyers advised them to settle out of court for a considerable sum in compensation over and above the costs of full pay for 10 weeks sick leave, additional signage, etc.

dickydonkin

BobQ wrote: »

If the OP was told by a manager to use the defective rucksack and they could not prove they had assessed the risks you might be surprised who would be laughing at the end of the process. (We do not know the actual situation of course)

I wasn't aware that the rucksack was 'defective' - in fact the OP was not even sure if s/he slipped on the stairs or tripped on a trailing strap, but it seems that based on the post, the straps were left trailing. If the rucksack was indeed defective, then why was the problem not reported by the user?

I agree that it is difficult to fully detrmine blame or cause without actually having access to an accident investigation and subsequent report - which I dare say with confidence that one wasn't carried out.

I dealt with a case in which a manager (stupidly) told someone to carry rigid boxes up some concrete steps, despite the individual suggesting in front of an independent witness that they went and got a specialist trolley that went up steps. He subsequently tripped over on the stairs and cut three tendons in his hand. He was off work for 10 weeks, the firm had all the expenses of managers investigating the situation and their lawyers advised them to settle out of court for a considerable sum in compensation over and above the costs of full pay for 10 weeks sick leave, additional signage, etc.

If the same manager told that guy to jump off a cliff - would he also oblige to that request?

In such a situation , the injured person had already expressed his concern over performing an apparent risky task - but did it anyway - with serious consequenses resulting. Arguably there was an element of contributory negligence on the injured persons part.

Again, that situation would be difficult to comment on without knowing the full details. Carrying boxes up a set of stairs is not ideal (sometimes the layout of a building makes such a task unavoidable) but can be done safely with certain precautions in place.

Settling out of court is not necessarily an admission of liability - but in many cases, is a sensible approach to cutting the costs of defending a claim.

BobQ

Sambucus_Nigra wrote: »

But would a manual handling course cover 'walking around with a rucksack with the straps dangling in front of you whilst walking down stairs'? Or is that just common sense?

I doubt it would, but if the course was any good it would highlight the general sort of things to be careful about when carrying things and possibly the specific risks of manual handing in his workplace, including the environment in which things are being carried.

marybelle01

MrSnuggles wrote: »

OP will be laughing at us if he managed to find a lawyer clever enough to talk the talk and actually win the case.

Not really. As pointed out, settling a "case" may be optimal for the employer. No doubt shortly thereafter followed by a requirement for redundancies, capability hearing for time off sick, or the sudden discovery of disciplinary allegations (carrying a small rucksack without authorisation?! ). An employer wants rid of someone, they'll find a way. Often followed by the "damning with faint praise reference " . Being litigatious may sometimes be the only option, but it is never a good career move.