Work induced back injuries lead to compensation
Strenuous job roles can have serious effects on the physical frame.
As a result, a number of compensation claims have been awarded to employees whose work lives and personal lives have been severely affected.
In one such instance, a man whose life has been seriously impaired as a result of a serious back injury, has been paid substantial compensation by a firm in Merseyside.
The man who is in his 60s and from Prescot, worked as a Facilities Engineer and sustained a serious back injury after being involved in a work accident, when he fell down a damp sloping grass verge whilst reading meters at one of the firm's factory buildings.
The man is a member of the leading trade union Unite, and brought his claim for compensation with the support of their personal injury lawyers. As a result, his former employer agreed to settle for £250,000, just 3 weeks before the trial.
The man, said: "To access the new meter house I had to walk up some steps and up a slippery grass verge around the back of the meter house. I'd carried out the reading and was walking down the grass verge towards the stairs. It was very unsafe and my feet slipped forwards so I ended up at the bottom of the verge."
He added: "I injured my back very badly but I still tried to continue working for four months. I was given pain killing injections which allowed me to return to work part time in but I was unable to continue any further."
The man concluded by saying: "I had an operation on my back in March 2004 and was sadly retired in April 2005. The accident has ruined my life; I now live with considerable pain and I've had to give up most of my pre accident activities."
Man compensated and reemployed
In a related incident, a man with an existing back problem was awarded with compensation and his job, after he was dismissed because of back issues.
The man, who was employed as a council worker, was awarded with £10,544 in compensation and got his job back, after a tribunal ruled he was unfairly dismissed for failing to tell his bosses that he suffered from a bad back.
The man was hired by East Dunbartonshire Council to collect rubbish for recycling, in February 2005.
When he went off sick with a sore back for three weeks last summer, the council dismissed him for his failure to disclose his history of back pain.
The Employment Tribunal heard that the man had sustained a back injury while working as a miner 17 years ago.
No mention of previous back injury
At his interview for his job with East Dunbartonshire, he was given a medical questionnaire to fill in, but failed to mention the personal injury.
He said that he was not told that the medical questionnaire formed part of the recruitment procedure and he completed the form in a hurry. He thought that the question relating to back pain or injury only related to the previous 12 months.
Frances Eccles, an employment judge ruled that the man, who comes from Kirkintilloch, Scotland, was unfairly dismissed.
The man was given £10,544 in a compensation claim for lost wages and the council was ordered to reinstate him to his previous job by October 13.
Rory McPherson, a no win no fee personal injury lawyer, who specialises with employment cases, said: "Employers always have to ask themselves if they are behaving reasonably if it is their intention to dismiss someone."
He concluded by saying: "In this case the Tribunal held that the council failed that test by not explaining to their employee the significance of declaring his medical history and that he was therefore entitled to compensation for his loss of earnings and to be reinstated."
Updated on 05/03/2010