Personal injury advice from
Thompsons Solicitors
Hospital Employee Suffers Back Injury During Patient Transfer
4th January 2011
A woman who suffered a back injury in a workplace accident received compensation recently, in a personal injury claim handled by our expert lawyers.
Manual Handling Accident
The claimant was assisting an elderly man out of his wheelchair and onto a bed in the course of her work at a hospital. He said that he was a little shaky on his feet, but would be fine to stand with assistance. There was no stand-aid available in the department, so our client helped him manually.
Unfortunately, as the man stood from the chair he suddenly fell backwards, pulling our client forwards over the chair. She suffered a personal injury as a result, in the form of damage to her lower back. The injury left her unable to work for several months and she required treatment including physiotherapy and acupuncture.
Lack of Equipment
Our client felt that her accident at work could have been avoided if there were standing aids available. There was a hoist available, but this was in another department, hoists are not necessary for some patients who require help with standing and many patients are not happy to be hoisted. It was not common practice for a hoist to be used unless advanced notice had been sent that a patient would require it.
We began a claim against the hospital Trust on our client’s behalf. They denied liability for the accident, so we pursued the case to Court. Witnesses for the defendant admitted that hoists were not suitable for all patients and a stand-aid could have been ordered. After the accident a stand-aid was purchased.
The Judge agreed that providing a stand-aid would have reduced the risk of employee injury and failure to provide it was in breach of the Manual Handling Regulations. Our client was awarded over £6,000 in damages in respect of her injury and losses.
Workplace Accident Advice
If you suffer an injury as the result of a manual handling accident, or any other accident at work, you may be entitled to compensation.
Contact The Legal Line on 0800 0328511, or by completing a claim enquiry form online, for cost free injury claim advice from our specialist personal injury lawyers.
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