I Hurt My Back at Work What Should I Do?

Following a workplace accident, you might ask, “I hurt my back at work, what should I do?”. Therefore, we’ve written this guide to look at how to report a back injury at work, your rights after being injured and when you could claim compensation for back injuries sustained at work. You’ll read answers to some common questions relating to work-related back injuries and how they should be dealt with.

If you hurt your back at work and believe your employer was to blame, you could be entitled to claim compensation. That’s where we can help. Firstly, we’ll assess your case for free and discuss what action you can take. After that, we could connect you with one of our solicitors for a further review of your claim. If they agree to represent you, the claim will proceed on a No Win, No Fee basis.

Please feel free to contact us by:

• Calling 0333 241 2519 now.
• Connecting to our free live chat service.

Please read on for more on how to deal with a back injury at work. If you have any questions along the way, please get in touch.

What Are the First Steps I Should Take After Hurting My Back at Work?

If you hurt your back at work, you should:

• Assess the severity of your injury – you might need the company’s first aider to help at this point.
• Following a serious accident, you may need your back injury to be assessed by a paramedic before you are moved.
• Ensure the accident and your symptoms are logged in the company’s accident report book.

These steps could help in several ways but, crucially, they could prevent you from making your injury worse than it already is.

Should I Report My Back Injury to My Employer Immediately?

When it comes to reporting an accident at work, the rule is to make sure that you tell your employer, manager or supervisor as soon as you can.

This could simply be a matter of telling your supervisor about the accident verbally so that they are aware of what happened before a follow-up email and logging the incident in the accident report book.

For instance, if you suffer a serious back injury following an accident at work, you might be taken to hospital in an ambulance. As such, you might not get the chance to report the incident right away.

However, you should report the incident where possible at your earliest opportunity. This could mean emailing a brief incident report from your phone while you’re still in the hospital once you’re permitted to move by your doctor.

What Information Should Be Included in My Report?

All companies with 10 or more employees must keep an accident book or similar system to record information about any accidents at work.

Some of the most important information that should be logged include:

• Your personal information.
• The date, time and location of your accident.
• Information about any injuries you’ve suffered.
• Details about any treatment offered.
• Information about anyone who witnessed the accident.

If you provide information about your accident verbally, you are entitled to request a copy of the accident report form. This can be a useful tool if you decide to claim compensation for a back injury at work as it makes it hard for your employer to deny that the incident occurred.

Should I Seek Medical Attention for My Back Injury?

If a back injury is not diagnosed and treated by a medical professional, you might have to deal with back pain for longer than is necessary. In more serious cases, incorrect treatment of a back injury could lead to life-changing injuries including those leading to paralysis.

Therefore, if you hurt your back at work, you should:

• Call 999 if there is any concern that your back or neck might be broken.
• Visit your GP if you’ve developed a back injury that’s causing ongoing pain and suffering.
• Ensure you attend any physiotherapy sessions or other treatments suggested by your GP.

If you are in any doubt about what to do after injuring your back, you should contact NHS 111 to get advice about your symptoms.

Am I Entitled to Take Time Off Work to Recover From My Back Injury?

If you are unable to work because of a back injury, you might be entitled to take time off work. This will be dependent on the terms of your employment contract and you might be entitled to receive some form of sick pay (we’ll provide more information about this in the next section).

If you are unable to work because of your back injury, you should contact your employer on day one of your injury to report your absence. You may need to report it to your employer daily until you are fit for work.

Alternatively, you might be ‘signed off’ from work for a longer period if your doctor recommends that you need rest to aid your recovery.

In some cases, your employer may ask you to return to work in a different role i.e. one that’s less strenuous for instance, rather than returning to your normal job.

The key takeaway here is that you should inform your employer about your injury and seek their advice about your options if you’re unable to work.

Will I Be Paid While I Am Off Work Due to a Back Injury?

If you can’t work because of a back injury, you might be entitled to Statutory Sick Pay (SSP) if:

• You are employed and have started your job.
• Earn at least £123 a week (on average and at the time of writing).
• Have been unable to work for more than 3 days.

SSP will not usually cover all of your wages and can only be claimed for up to 28 weeks. However, your contract may entitle you to enhanced sick pay from your employer so you should check this with them in the first instance.

Can I Claim Compensation for a Back Injury Sustained at Work?

It may be possible to claim compensation after hurting your back at work if:

• You were legally owed a duty of care by your employer at the time you were injured.
• Your employer breached their duty of care through an act of negligence; and
• As a result, you suffered a back injury.

Legally, establishing that your employer owed you a duty of care isn’t too hard. Many laws can be used to establish this duty including the Health and Safety at Work etc. Act 1974. Generally, this duty will have been breached if your employer’s actions (or lack of action) led to unsafe working conditions that directly caused your back injury.

For instance, you might be entitled to claim if you injured your back following a fall because your employer provided you with a ladder unfit for purpose. Similarly, you might be able to claim for a back injury caused by a lack of manual handling training.

If your claim is successful, you’ll be awarded compensation. It will be formed by two different heads of loss:

• General damages: covering the pain, suffering and any loss of amenity your back injury has caused.
• Special damages: covering costs arising from your injuries including medical expenses, loss of earnings, care costs and home modifications if your back injury causes long-term disability.

To prove the extent of your back injury, your solicitor may organise an independent medical assessment on your behalf. In the appointment, a specialist will examine you and discuss the suffering your back injury has caused. Their report will detail your injuries and explain your prognosis for the future.

What Evidence Do I Need to Support a Compensation Claim for a Back Injury?

It is important to try and gather as much evidence as possible to prove how you hurt your back at work and why your employer was responsible if you’re to be properly compensated for your suffering. Some examples of evidence that can help back injury claims include:

• Photographs of the accident scene along with CCTV footage where available.
• Medical confirmation of your injuries i.e. copies of hospital records.
• Pictures of any visible injuries.
• A diary of how your back injury has affected you.
• Accident report forms or HSE investigation reports.
• Information about any potential witnesses (in case statements are required later).
• Details of any expenses linked to your injuries.

Even if you haven’t got all of the evidence listed here, you could still speak to a legal advisor about starting a claim. If your claim is accepted, your solicitor may offer to find any further information needed as part of their service.

How Do I File a Compensation Claim for a Back Injury at Work?

If you’ve hurt your back at work and believe you should be compensated, one of the first things you might want to do is find a specialist solicitor to represent you.

Using an accident-at-work solicitor could improve your chances of being compensated, make the claims process much easier and lead to a higher compensation payout than you might otherwise expect.

If your claim is taken on by one of our solicitors, they’ll:

• Collect the evidence needed to try and prove your case.
• File your claim correctly and within the allowable time limits.
• Argue your case and fight your corner so you don’t need to deal with any negotiations yourself.
• Try to ensure any compensation offer is fair before it is accepted.
• Keep you up to date throughout the claims process.

Crucially, because our solicitors use a contract called a Conditional Fee Agreement (CFA), they can provide a No Win, No Fee service. This means that after you’ve signed the CFA, your solicitor can work on your case without being paid for their work upfront.

You’ll only have to pay for your solicitor’s efforts if you are paid compensation for your back injury at work. If that happens, a success fee will be deducted from your settlement. This is a legally capped percentage of your payout that cannot exceed 25 per cent.

To see if you could make a No Win, No Fee claim after hurting your back at work, please contact our legal advisors now.

What Should I Do if My Employer Disputes My Back Injury Claim?

It is important to point out that if you decide to start a back injury at work claim, your employer cannot retaliate even if they don’t believe that they are responsible for the accident or your injuries.

As such, they cannot bully you, pick on you, demote you, fire you or discipline you as a result of the claim as these actions could lead to a separate unfair or constructive dismissal claim.

If you believe you have been unfairly disciplined for having an accident at work, you may need to raise a complaint with your employer about what has happened or seek advice from an advisor from your union if you are a member of one.

You could also speak to us to find out if your treatment has been unfair and whether legal action against your employer might be required.

Contacting Us About Your Back Injury at Work

If you’ve injured your back whilst working and would like to start a claim, we can help. To request a free initial consultation so that we can examine your options, you can:

• Call our legal advisors on 0333 241 2519.
• Connect to our 24/7 online chat service.

There’s no obligation to begin a claim with us after we’ve reviewed your case but we will answer any questions you might have. Therefore, if you’re wondering, “I hurt my back at work what should I do?”, please feel free to call. If your case is feasible, one of our No Win, No Fee solicitors could help you to claim the compensation you deserve.