A woman who injured her back as a result of repeated heavy lifting at work has received £60,000 in compensation from her employer.
In spite of this, Ms Coulthard was still expected to carry out heavy lifting duties and this situation continued until late in 2004 when she was given less strenuous work. However, by the start of 2006 she was again given work that involved heavy lifting. Again her GP advised her employer, by letter, that she should not be given this kind of work.
Ms Coulthard claimed that her employer had paid very little attention to her back condition. The MoD was also unable to provide any evidence that there was a safe system in place for manual handling, which is surprising given the nature of the work. Many of the boxes which Ms Coulthard was handling contained spent munitions and other heavy materials.
In May 2006, Ms Coulthard was off sick again on account of back pain and this time was unable to return to work. She was eventually medically retired in 2007. Since her retirement she has continued to suffer from her injury. She now has difficulty standing, sitting or walking for long periods of time and frequently experiences pain.
The Manual Handling Operations Regulations 1992 describe manual handling as ‘...any transporting or supporting of a load (including the lifting, putting down, pushing, pulling, carrying or moving thereof) by hand or bodily force’.
The Health and Safety Executive has useful guidance on this topic. This outlines problems associated with manual handling and sets out best practice in dealing with them. In addition, there is a Manual Handling Assessment Chart Tool, which has been developed to help identify the level of risk involved in workplace manual handling activities.
Employers who fail to comply with their duties under health and safety law not only risk having to pay fines and possible prosecution but also lay themselves open to claims for damages from employees who suffer injury as a result of poor workplace practices.
