Nearly a quarter of all work related injury is caused by handling, according to the latest statistics from the Health and Safety Executive.
Handling injuries include lifting things at work, as well as injuries due to carrying, pushing or pulling loads, sprains, strains, trapped fingers and cuts from sharp objects – and the injuries can occur in any workplace environment. You can be injured just as easily in the office as the more obvious example of the factory shop floor or warehouse.
So, next time you lift or handle something at work, pause to consider the risk you are being exposed to:
- An estimated 909,000 working days were lost last year due to handling injuries
- 90% of all handling injuries led to an absence from work of more than 7 days.
Statistics are all very well, but we mustn’t lose sight of the misery behind the figures.
The pain from these injuries can be significant, with operations, visits to the doctor or hospital, and ongoing treatment such as physiotherapy all too common for those involved. Then there’s the mounting bills when you can’t work and lose pay, medical costs such as prescription charges and increasing travel charges if you can’t drive – to say nothing of the day to day effects when you can’t pick up your kids from school, pursue your favourite sport or hobby, or go on that holiday you were looking forward to.
Of course, accidents happen at work, but we should be able to go to work happy that our employers will do their best to keep us safe. There are many rules, regulations and laws which employers are required to abide by, all designed to ensure that you are safe at work. These range from restricting the amount you should carry in one lift; or push or pull in one load; to providing proper work equipment to protect your limbs, feet or hands; or just making sure you are properly trained in the first place, with proper ongoing refresher training.
Even if you are a casual worker or consider yourself to be self-employed, you may still have the same rights as other workers.
Suffering an injury or illness at work can have serious consequences for you and your family. At Russell Worth, we have helped thousands of people get back on track following an accident at work – helping with claims to repay any lost earnings or future loss of earnings if you have to take time off sick or cannot return to work; pay for private medical treatment to help you to recover; recover compensation for your injury, and seek repayment of any expenses that you would not have otherwise had to pay, such as the cost of travel to hospital appointments.
Please take as much care as you can when you are working and in the unfortunate event you are injured due to no fault of your own please call our Claims Hotline on 0800 028 2060 for a free informal chat to see how we may be able to help you. Alternatively visit our website www.russellworth.co.uk where you can find out more about how the claims process works.
