Spinal Injuries at Work

Annually, on average, 41.7% of spinal cord injuries in the UK are the result of a fall, whether in the workplace or elsewhere. Injuries are also caused from lifting or some form of sharp trauma, many as a result of work activities.

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Spinal injury accident at work – Employer’s Liability

All employers have a duty of care and legal responsibility to ensure that all their employees are properly trained, receive the correct work/personal protection equipment and that their place of work is safe. The regulatory framework is largely comprised of the following:

  • Health and Safety at Work Act 1974
  • The Management of Health and Safety at Work Regulations 1999
  • The Provision and Use of Work Equipment Regulations 1998
  • The Work at Height Regulations 2005
  • The Manual Handling Operations Regulations 1992

Other regulations apply depending on the industry in which an employee is working and the task at hand.

Self-employed persons may also benefit from the Regulations. For example, many industries such as construction, use a large number of sub-contractors to undertake the work they do. Whilst the sub-contractor may not be directly employed by the main contractor, the law often treats the relationship as tantamount to employer and employee.

Employers are also required by statute to have insurance, Employers’ Liability (Compulsory Insurance) Act 1969, to ensure there is provision, in the event of an accident, to meet the demands of any compensation payable.

In essence, the law is designed to protect employees by requiring employers to provide adequate training, supervision, equipment and a safe environment. If despite this, an accident occurs, and the employer has been negligent, the employee has recourse to compensation through the liability insurer.

Spinal injury accident at work – establishing liability

Establishing liability (blame) against an employer requires the expertise of an experienced personal injury lawyer. Your solicitor will need to navigate the regulatory framework and seek disclosure of the relevant documents (which can be significant) from the employer in order to understand the prospects of a successful claim.

The best thing you can do following spinal cord injury at work is to contact a specialist spinal cord injury solicitor, such as Aspire Law, as soon as you or a family member are able. Your solicitor can then ensure that the evidence is secured/preserved and go about investigating the circumstances of the accident and requesting the relevant documents (pre-action disclosure) from your employer.

Spinal injury accident at work – claiming compensation

As with every spinal cord injury, claiming compensation can often be a daunting process. But even more so when it’s against your employer.

At Aspire Law, we streamline the processes to make it as easy, stress-free and uncomplicated as we can. We can ensure that we are the face of your case to keep things as easy as possible for you. We are also on hand to keep you in the loop with your case by breaking down complex legal jargon and discussing the processes of your case with you.

Following a spinal injury accident at work, there is a clear compensation claim process that we follow:

Following an initial enquiry, we will arrange for you to meet with one of our specially trained lawyers – at a place convenient to you. They will then hear from you and discuss your options to provide an initial view on liability.

Next, Aspire Law will investigate your claim and review all evidence. Put simply, to win a compensation claim for an accident at work, the claimant must prove that his/her employer was negligent, and this negligence caused (wholly or in part) the injury.

After that, and sometimes in conjunction with, we go about instructing the medical and other experts required in cases such as this to value your claim, which will ultimately be the sum we seek from your employer’s insurer.

We’re often able to secure early interim payments during the initial stages from the employer’s insurer to help with rehabilitation and other out of pocket expenses. These payments can often prove invaluable and help alleviate any short-term anxiety about how things are going to be paid for whilst you’re in hospital/receiving rehabilitation.

We understand the legal process can often appear intimidating and so we ensure regular contact is maintained. As a specialist law firm, we are dedicated to securing the highest levels of compensation for all our clients. This is because, only working with spinal cord injury cases, we understand just how life-changing and necessary a successful compensation case can be.

Spinal injury accident at work – a case study

For more information, please watch our client story featuring Jay Young, who sustained a spinal cord injury whilst at work. This case study serves to provide an overview of spinal cord injury compensation claims and the way we work here at Aspire law.

To find out more about our recent client stories or about Aspire Law, visit our Vimeo channel.

Contact Us

If you want more information about the claim process, discuss a second opinion or whether you are unsure if you have a case, please get in touch today.