subject: Personal Injury - Claiming Compensation in Desk Based Jobs [print this page] Personal Injury - Claiming Compensation in Desk Based Jobs
The most common types of injuries in the workplace where claims for compensation are made are from slips, trips and falls. This is closely followed by injuries sustained when lifting or moving heavy or bulky objects, however these are not the largest categories of injury.
Three quarters of all jobs are office based and require the employee to spend most of their time sat at a desk, and many people who have a desk-based role frequently experience lower back pain, muscle cramps, stiffness, joint strain and headaches as a result of the configuration of their workstation. Whilst these symptoms may sound relatively minor, the damage caused by a badly arranged workstation is cumulative and incremental. Over time, this damage can result in severe postural defects, strain on joints and muscle and nerve damage.
Most people who have office based jobs will spend at least 35 hours each week sat at their desks, which amounts to around 1700 hours each year. This is more than enough time for permanent and serious damage to be caused, and whilst this doesn't mean that everyone who has a desk job is entitled to make a claim for personal injury it does mean that employees who suffer personal injury as a result of their employee failing to take these safety concerns seriously may be able to obtain compensation.
Under health and safety legislation, employers are required to take steps to ensure that they provide employees with a safe workplace and a safe system of work. If they fail to do this, employers can be found negligent or in breach of their statutory duties, meaning that they will be liable for any personal injury which results.
In order to successfully claim compensation for personal injury, you will need to demonstrate that there were precautions and steps which could have been taken to reduce the risk of harm, that in view of the likelihood that harm would occur and the seriousness of that harm a reasonable person would have taken those precautions and that the employer failed to take these steps. Common precautions include:
Performing regular risk assessments of all employee's workstations;
Monitoring lighting levels and glare to reduce the risk of eye-strain and headaches;
Commissioning a specialist physiotherapist or health and safety consultant to identify the specific requirements of individual employees, based on their body-shape, height and weight;
Making use of specially designed ergonomic equipment such as wrist-rests, lumbar-supports and desk height-adjusters to optimise each work station from a health and safety perspective;
Because of the risk of personal injury claims, many larger corporate employers take steps to ensure that employees work stations and working practices are assessed for their safety and that any unsafe equipment or practices are addressed. This often means that when an employee raises a concern about the safety of a workstation, this concern is addressed quickly and comprehensively. However, many smaller employers do not take their health and safety duties so seriously and as a result simple and cost-effective steps have not been taken to reduce the risk of harm to employees, opening the employer up to potential claims for personal injury.
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